Apitherapy

Apitherapy, or bee therapy, is the use of honeybee venom for therapeutic purposes.

Why should I be aware of this?

• Apitherapy offers to people, and particularly people in developing countries, a medical approach that is based on the use of local resources, thus allowing powerful treatments whilst remaining financially accessible to those with low income.

All about Apitherapy

Since the time of the ancient Egypt, Greece, and China. From ancient time onwards honeybee has played a major role in human lives. The modern systematic study of apitherapy was initiated by the Austrian physician Phillip Terc. He published the results of intentional bee sting and bee in his article "Report about a Peculiar Connection Between the Beestings and Rheumatism" in 1888. Apitherapy is an established form of alternative therapy and is practiced by thousands of medical professionals and lay practitioners.

Honeybee products in Apitherapy

There are five popular honeybee products used in apitherapy. These include bee venom, bee pollen, raw honey, royal jelly, and propolis. Each of these bee products works differently for various ailments.

• Bee Venom

Most popular for the treatment of multiple sclerosis and many forms of arthritis, bee venom is administered to patients either through direct bee sting or by injections. Substances such as adolapin and melttin make bee venom have more potent anti-inflammatory actions than those of the steroids. Melttin also stimulate the production of cortisol in the body, which is a natural steroid compound possessing anti-inflammatory property. Its anti-inflammatory property makes bee venom effective for inherent inflammatory process, like tendenitis, bursitis, and arthritis, including rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.

• Bee pollen

Bee pollen is an energy stimulating nutritional supplement and contains various vitamins, minerals, fatty acids and protein. Bee pollen is used by some apitherapy practitioners to treat seasonal allergy. Ingestion of small amounts of pollen may desensitize the patient. Benefits of bee pollen include its potential to improve performance of athletes, and anti-aging activities, though they are not yet supported by scientific evidence.

• Raw honey

Made from the nectar collected by bees from many different flowers, honey is a good source of energy, because of its carbohydrate content, and is also good source of vitamins and various minerals. It has a mild anti-bacterial and antimicrobial activity. Honey is shown to sooth soar throat. Apitherapist uses raw honey which, some studies have shown to be better than heated or processed forms.

• Royal jelly

The secret of the queen bee’s long life and increased fertility is believed to be related to consumption of royal jelly. Royal jelly has been used in variety of medical conditions, including fatigue, infertility, lack of appetite and asthma. There are many clinical reports of the benefits of royal jelly in variety of other medical conditions, but these claims are not largely supported by clinical studies. Animal and human studies have shown that royal jelly is capable of lowering cholesterol levels. There is no scientific evidence to support the claim that royal jelly retards aging process in human beings.

• Propolis

Propolis is a sticky resin that seeps form the buds of certain trees and is also called bee glue. It is shown to have antibacterial activities and may be effective in the treatment of cuts and bruises. Propolis also serves as a source of flavonoids, which is a potent antioxidant.

• Bee wax

Bee wax is secreted by the worker bees from their glands on the underside of her body and used to build the home in which the bees live. Bee wax is used in face and hand creams, ointments, lipsticks and lip salves, coating tablets and capsules in the pharmaceutical industry.

Unlearn

In a controlled study from Allegheny University of the Health Sciences in Philadelphia, bee venom was found to have no positive effects at any dosage in mice with Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, the animal model for multiple sclerosis. Additionally many of the animals expressed worse symptoms from the placebo groups.

References:

• Apitherapy
• What is Apitherapy?
• How does Apitherapy work?