New emerging fields of application of propolis

Abstract

Propolis (bee glue) is a sticky resinous material applied by honey bees Apis mellifera L. as a building material in their hives and as a defensive substance against infections. Propolis has been used as a remedy in traditional medicine systems all over the world, mainly to treat wounds and burns, sore throat, stomach ulcer, etc. Modern science has confirmed the antimicrobial and antiviral action of propolis, and has discovered numerous other beneficial pharmacological properties of bee glue: immunomodulating, anti-inflammatory, antiobesity, antitumor, and many others. For this reason, significant number of products containing propolis have been developed and commercialised: medical devices, over-the-counter preparations, health foods and beverages, cosmetics. This review is not dealing with propolis applications in improvement and protection of human health. Instead, it is focused on some new and promising areas of propolis use and innovative propolis containing products, emerging in the last few years: improving growth performance of livestock, food preservation, food packaging, textile materials for biomedical application, etc.