Pollen and bee bread expressed highest anti-inflammatory activities among bee products in chronic inflammation: an experimental study with cotton pellet granuloma in rats.

Little is known about the effectiveness of bee products on chronic inflammation. In this experimental study, it was aimed to investigate and compare the anti-inflammatory activities of honey, propolis, royal jelly, pollen and bee bread, for the first time in the literature. In the study, 48 Sprague Dawley female albino rats weighing 200 ± 20 g were used and bee products were administered by oral gavage method. Healthy, control, honey, propolis, pollen, royal jelly and bee bread groups were randomized. Chronic inflammation was created by cotton pellet method. For the treatments, 1 g/kg of honey, 300 mg/kg/day of pollen, 100 mg/kg/day of propolis, 500 mg/kg/day of bee bread and 100 mg/kg/day of royal jelly were given for seven days. One week later, cotton pellets were removed, and the pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine levels of the blood samples were measured and compared statistically. It was found that honey, propolis, pollen, bee bread and royal jelly had statistically significant anti-inflammatory activities and significantly reduced pro-inflammatory cytokine levels (p < 0.001). Among the anti-inflammatory cytokines, pollen, bee bread and propolis were found to increase the levels of IL-4, IL-10 and IL-1RA the most. Among the pro-inflammatory cytokines, pollen, bee bread and propolis were the ones that decreased IL-6 and TNF-α levels the most; Pollen, bee bread and honey were found to decrease IL-1ß the most (p < 0.001). It was found that all bee products have significant anti-inflammatory activities. The highest anti-inflammatory activity was found with pollen administration, followed by bee bread and propolis.

Use of bee venom in preventive medicine: An experimental hepatic encephalopathy study in rats.

OBJECTIVES: Bee venom is used for medicinal purposes, including the treatment of neurological and liver diseases, but its use as a primary health care approach for preventive purposes requires further exploration. The aim of this study was to provide the first investigation into the possible protective effects of bee venom against hepatic encephalopathy, a serious neurodegenerative disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An experimental animal study was conducted in which healthy albino Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized into three groups: healthy, control and bee venom groups. All rats were tested for locomotor activity at the beginning and end of the study. No intervention was made in the healthy group, whereas hepatic encephalopathy was induced in the control and bee venom groups by the administration of thioacetamide (TAA) (200 mg/kg/day). The bee venom group also received bee venom (5 mg/kg/day) subcutaneously every day for 14 days prior to the TAA administration. RESULTS: The results for the final locomotor activity tests were statistically better in the bee venom group than in the control group, supporting a beneficial effect of prophylactic bee venom application. Blood ammonia levels and liver weights, determined as indicators of inflammation, were lower in the bee venom group than in the control group and were close to levels in the healthy group, but not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Bee venom administration has protective effects against the development of hepatic encephalopathy and offers a promising therapeutic opportunity in preventive medicine.