Monday, February 4, 2013

Bee Products Fight Disease, Useful in Medicine

Just in time for the cold season, another scientific review validating the health benefits of bee products. Besides protecting oneself from the changing seasons, it's clear that taking honey and propolis (and other bee products) has a synergistic effect to aid even more severe chronic conditions such as allergies and autoimmune diseases... 


Immunological Properties of Bee Products
Pot-Honey 2013, pp 513-523 

Abstract:
Honey, bee pollen, propolis and royal jelly are among the main products obtained from bees. They contain many compounds that may fight disease, making them useful in medicineBee products act upon both innate and adaptive immune response. At different levels, in the human innate response, these compounds suppress DNA synthesis, decrease proinflammatory cytokine synthesis (IL-2, IL-12 and IL-4), inactivate both the classical and alternative complement pathway, and decrease superoxide anion production in rabbit neutrophils. 
In adaptive immune response, propolis and honey induce the increase of antibody production by plasma cells, enhance the secretion of TGF-β after the activation of T regulatory cells, and inhibit Con A-stimulated cell proliferation in mice. The honey bee products act mainly through anti-inflammatory action which can ameliorate allergic and autoimmune diseases where inflammation plays an important role
Based on this knowledge, clinical studies to evaluate such products could be designed to obtain a new class of drugs, with application to allergies and autoimmune disease treatment.

Within this Chapter:

Introduction
Honey Bee Products and Innate Immune Response
Action Mechanisms of Bee Products in the Adaptive Immune Response
Future Perspectives to Use Honey Bee Products in Treatment of Immune Diseases
Conclusions
References
References


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