A somewhat gullible friend was telling me about this antibiotic she takes called "propolis", made by bees, and I went to go do some more reading on the subject.
So it turns out that propolis is not actually made by bees; it's gathered by bees from nearby plants, and it looks like there's good evidence that it works. But its composition varies a lot, and can even include artificial caulking chemicals that bees gather from nearby construction projects. Also, it contains a very large number of different chemicals. So it's probably fairly safe to take in small quantities, and there is good empirical evidence suggesting that it is effective; but it's not consistent in its composition, and at least sometimes, it contains a wide variety of toxins. Unsurprisingly, the best overview I've found online is in Wikipedia: > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propolis A 1998 toxicology review: > http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9651052&dopt=Abstract Propolis is a multifunctional material used by bees in the construction and maintenance of their hives. Use of propolis by humans has a long history, predated only by the discovery of honey. Use of products containing propolis have resulted in extensive dermal contact and it is now increasingly being used a dietary supplement. Unlike many 'natural' remedies, there is a substantive database on the biological activity and toxicity of propolis indicating it may have many antibiotic, antifungal, antiviral and antitumour properties, among other attributes. Although reports of allergic reactions are not uncommon, propolis is relatively non-toxic, with a no-effect level (NOEL) in a 90-mouse study of 1400 mg/kg body weight/day. This pharmacopeia site sort of endorses it: > http://www.pdrhealth.com/drug_info/nmdrugprofiles/nutsupdrugs/pro_0294.shtml But the best part is the list of references: Burdock GA. Review of the biological properties and toxicity of bee propolis (propolis). Food Chem Toxicol. 1998; 36:347-363. Chopra S, Pillai KK, Husain SZ, Giri DK. Propolis protects against doxorubicin-induced myocardiopathy in rats. Exp Mol Pathol. 1995; 62:190-198. El-Ghazaly MA, Khayyal MT. The use of aqueous propolis extract against radiation-induced damage. Drugs Exp Clin Res. 1995; 21:229-236. Grange JM, Davey RW. Antibacterial properties of propolis (bee glue). J.R Soc Med. 1990; 83:159-160. Harish Z, Rubinstein A, Golodner M, et al. Suppression of HIV-1 replication by propolis and its immunoregulatory effect. Drugs Exp Clin Res. 1997; 23:89-96. Khayyal MT, el-Ghazaly MA, el-Khatib AS. Mechanism involved in the anti-inflammatory effect of propolis extract. Drugs Exp Clin Res. 1993; 19:197-203. Kujumgiev A, Tsverkova I, Serkedjieva Y, et al. Antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral activity of propolis of different geographic origins. J Ethnopharmacol. 1999; 64:235-240. Ledon N, Casaco A, Gonzales R, et al. Antipsoriatic, anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of an extract of red propolis. Chung Kuo Yao Li Hsueh Pao. 1997; 18:274-276. Lin SC, Lin YH, Chen CF, et al. The hepatoprotective and therapeutic effects of propolis ethanol extract on chronic alcohol-induced liver injuries. Am J Chin Med 1997; 25:325-332. Matsuno T, Jung SK, Matsumoto Y, et al. Preferential cytotoxicity to tumor cells of 3, 5-diprenyl-4-hydroxycinnamic acid (artipillin C) isolated from propolis. Anticancer Res. 1997; 17(5A):3565-3568. Mirzoeva OK, Calder PC. The effect of propolis and its components on eicosanoid production during the inflammatory response. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 1996; 55:441-449. Mirzoeva OK, Grishanin RN, Calder PC. Antimicrobial actin of propolis and some of its components: the effects on growth, membrane potential and motility of bacteria. Microbiol Res. 1997; 152:239-246. Natarajan K, Singh S, Burke TR Jr, et al. Caffeic acid phenethyl ester is a potent and specific inhibitor of activation of nuclear transcription factor NF-Kappa B. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 1996; 93:9090-9095. Ozturk F, Kurt E, Cerci M, et al. The effect of propolis extract in experimental chemical corneal injury. Ophthalmic Res. 2000; 32:13-18. Park EH, Kahng JH. Suppressive effects of propolis in rat adjuvant arthritis. Arch Pharm Res. 1999; 22:554-558. Rao CV, Desai D, Simi B, et al. Inhibitory effect of caffeic acid esters on azoxymethane-induced biochemical change and aberrant crypt foci formation in rat colon. Cancer Res. 1993; 53:4182-4188. This unethical propolis merchant has a litany of misleading and contradictory statements on their web page: > http://www.pureroyaljelly.com/propolis.html Among other things, they claim that propolis contains 19 known chemicals, more than 500 known chemicals, that it is a "perfectly balanced substance", that its composition varies wildly, that it is a resin, that it is a mixture of resins with other things, and so on. Oh, and it implies that penicillin is synthetic. Not the people I want to buy my drugs from. Even this page, which is mostly anti-alternative-medicine, allows that propolis "has exhibited a variety of interesting antimicrobial and antitumor properties" in laboratory tests, although it then cites a 20-year-old paper to support its assertion that it "has little practical use". > http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/DSH/bee.html This page ("Propolis", by Heather Clay, Printed in Hivelights, Vol 14 #1) discusses how to gather it: > http://www.honeycouncil.ca/users/folder.asp?FolderID=4667 It warns that the "traditional way" to collect propolis can result in contamination of the resulting propolis with wood and paint particles, and recommends regular testing to detect possible lead contamination.
