Open AccessThe consumption of propolis and royal jelly in preventing upper respiratory tract infections and as dietary supplementation in children
Author(s) -
Sevda Yüksel,
Sümeyya Akyol
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of intercultural ethnopharmacology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2146-8397
DOI - 10.5455/jice.20160331064836
Subject(s) - propolis , royal jelly , antimicrobial , food science , caffeic acid , traditional medicine , nutraceutical , upper respiratory tract infection , respiratory tract infections , health benefits , biology , medicine , chemistry , antioxidant , microbiology and biotechnology , respiratory system , immunology , biochemistry
Propolis and royal jelly (RJ), two important honeybee products, have been used commonly all over the world as traditional and ethnopharmacological nutrients since ancient times. Both of them have a lot of active ingredients which are known to be effective for several medical conditions. In this article, medical databases were searched for the usage of RJ and propolis in upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) and as a dietary supplementation, together and separately. 10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid is the most prominent active compound showing antimicrobial effect within RJ. Caffeic acid phenethyl ester is the most famous one that shows antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effect within propolis. When compared with propolis, RJ was found to have richer content for all three main nutrients; proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids. More clinical, experimental, and basic studies are needed to find out the best standardized mixture to cope with URTI in which RJ and propolis will be main ingredients in addition to the other secondary compounds that have health-beneficial effects.