Apitherapy means the use of bee products for human health. In addition to the use of honey for centuries due to its contribution to human health, pollen and royal jelly are frequently used products in apitherapy due to their high nutritional value, protein, mineral, vitamin and free amino acids they contain. In parallel with the interest in apitherapy, the number of studies increasing day by day shows the positive effects of apitherapy in terms of human health, and treatment methods with rapidly developing bee products in the world, especially in the Far East countries, are rapidly becoming widespread.
Royal jelly is a very valuable nutrient produced by young worker bees, where they feed the only fertile member of the family, the queen bee and their offspring. The individual who will become the queen receives a large amount of royal jelly from other bees during the brood period and is fed with royal jelly throughout her life. As a result of this different diet, while the worker bees can live for 5 weeks, cannot produce offspring and can catch all kinds of diseases, the queen turns into an individual who lives for years, never gets sick and can produce eggs as much as her own weight in a day. As can be understood from here, royal jelly is an extremely important substance in terms of health protection, reproduction and longevity. However, it should not be used in people with active cancer disease.
Normally, the amount that can be obtained from a hive is very small, but beekeepers apply special methods and techniques to produce a lot of royal jelly. Thus, there are big differences in amount between the produced royal jelly and the royal jelly that is naturally formed in the hive. In the production of royal jelly applied by specially trained beekeepers, the producer takes every care to ensure that the quality is high, and thus the obtained royal jelly can often be of higher quality than the naturally produced royal jelly. Because all of the produced royal jelly is produced at the same time and the royal jelly obtained from each frame can be of the same freshness and quality. The next step in the quality of the obtained royal jelly is the preservation and proper consumption of the royal jelly. The best preservation is done in the cold and in honey. For these reasons, expertise is of great importance in determining factors such as production method, storage conditions and use. The bee, which goes to the flower to get nectar in order to make honey, encounters a surprise here. Pollen sticks to the body so that it can serve as pollination in the flower. This service of the bee is incomparably more valuable than the products it produces. Although he does not want to stick to the body, these pollen are swept from his body by the structure called brush on his middle leg and collected in the basket on his hind legs to be transported to the hive. Then the collected pollen is added on top of each other, resulting in the formation of 2 pollen globules on the hind legs.
This nutrient, which is extremely necessary for the bee to be fed as a source of protein, vitamins and minerals, is stored in the honeycombs. This process is indispensable for the natural life of the bee. The beekeeper harvests this valuable nutrient by placing traps at the entrance or bottom of the hive in the spring months when it is most produced. The traps are constructed in such a way that the bee empties the pollen balls on its legs into the drawer as it passes through the narrowed holes it has to pass through. If the pollen taken from the drawer in the hive on a daily basis is to be used fresh, it is immediately stored in the deep freezer. In this method, extremely useful enzymes on the pollen are also preserved. In the open storage method, it may need to be dried or even baked. However, in this case, the nutritional value of the pollen decreases.
Pollen, which is the male reproductive unit of flowers, is a very valuable nutrient thanks to various amino acids, enzymes, coenzymes, steroids, vitamins, antibiotics, microelements, carotenoids and flavonoids. It is indispensable for honey bees as it is the only protein source of the colony. Thanks to all these features, pollen, which is an important nutrient for humans, has a flower smell, dried fruit flavor and softness, which means that it is high quality and fresh.
Note: Do not use pollen without the advice of a doctor in case of allergy.
Honey, which is rich in vitamins and minerals, is a valuable food that also contains substances that come from plants and bees and are of great importance for human health. As it is an easily digestible food, it also facilitates the absorption of other foodstuffs in the body. This is the reason why royal jelly is used mixed with honey. Since honey prevents the reproduction of harmful microorganisms, it protects the body and at the same time ensures that the royal jelly mixed into it lasts for a long time.
Note: Flower honeys crystallize over time. This is a general property of honey and does not indicate that it causes structural deterioration. This feature, colloquially called confectionery, can be removed by heating honey in hot water not exceeding 50°C. However, it is not recommended to heat the royal jelly-honey mixture.
