ZOB401: Economic Zoology April 2021

Apiculture
1.4 Bee Products and their Uses

Developed By..
Dr. Ganesh K Maurya
Asst. Prof. (Zoology)
MMV, BHU
 Bee and their services
- Bees and their pollination services contribute to maintaining biological balance
in nature and enable various animal and plant species.
- They also provide bee products that are an entirely natural food source.
- It’s suitable source of food in today's increasingly faster pace of life.
 Bee Products
- Bees offer numerous benefits for humans.
- The following products from bees are obtained
which are used by humans Table 1: Raw materials and bee products

1. HONEY BEE
2. BEES WAX
3. BEE POLLEN
4. ROYAL JELLY
5. BEE BROOD
6. PROPOLIS
7. BEE VENOM
8. BEE BREAD
 1). HONEY
- Honey is a natural food made by the bee with nectar, pollen and other substances.
It is considered natures most completely nourishing food as it contains nearly all
nutrients required by humans.
- Honey originating from a single flower species is called monofloral honey, such as
kapok honey, banana honey or coffee honey.
- If the nectar of more than one species is collected, then it is called multifloral or
polyfloral honey.
Composition of Honey
Uses of Honey
1. FOR MIOSTURIZING
Honey, when mixed with eggs and some flour, is an effective skin moisturizer which is
good for sensitive skin. It is used for eliminating the effects of dry skin.

2. AS ANTISEPTIC

Honey happens to contain a good

amount of Hydrogen peroxide . When
applied on an open wound, the
glucose, contained by honey, is diluted
and gradually releases hydrogen
peroxide. The substance facilitates
your wound’s healing faster.

3. ENERGY BOOSTER
Honey acts as a quik energy
supplement. Honey’s glucose content will
be absorbed by the brain and
in the bloodstream, reducing fatigue in the
process.
4. Immune System Booster
- Though still not scientifically proven, the daily consumption of honey is said to
strengthen your immune system.

5. Treatment for Sore Throat

- To create the sore throat relieving serum, squeeze the juice from a lemon and mix it
with some honey. Stir the mixture until both ingredients blend. Drink the solution.

6. Other uses
- Colon Damage Prevention
- Parasite Remover
- Remedy for Burns
- Relaxant for anxiety and nervousness
- Cancer and Heart Disease Prevention
- Diabetic Ulcer Remedy
 2). Bees Wax
- The bees secrete wax out of four pairs of glands on the underside of their abdomens. The
development of the wax glands depends on the pollen eaten by the young bees after they
emerge from the cells. Bees that are about ten days old sweat the most wax.
- While producing and building with wax, the bees eat and digest a lot of honey. Their high
metabolism leads to a high body and surrounding temperature, which is necessary to keep
the wax fluid.
Composition of Bees wax
- The colour of beeswax is determined by the pollen
that the bees collect during the building process.
- New wax is usually white, but it can also be yellow to
reddish-orange.
- It is chemically inert, insoluble in water and soluble in
organic solvents.

Bees Wax
Uses of Bees Wax
1. Cosmetic and skin care 2. Postharvest treatment of fruits and vegetables
products such as Beeswax are used as glazing agent on fruits
Moisturizers and vegetables to prevent moisture lose
Lip gloss and pathogen attacks
Lip balm Ex - tomato and cucumber
Eye shadows
Eye liner
Moustaches wax
Hair pomade which makes the hair sleek

3. Surgical bone wax

It is used in preparing the surgical bone wax
which is used in controlling bleeding from
bone surface. 4. Polishing furniture
Beeswax are dissolved
in turpentine for
polishing furniture.
5. Other uses
It includes
The making of
Candles, tooth paste,
crayon, Water prove leather,
dental floss,
 3). Bee Pollen
• Honey bees collect pollen from the stamens of flowers. The pollen sticks to the bee’s hairs
while the bee is sucking nectar.
• The bee removes the pollen from its hairs using a comb on its forelegs and adds some saliva
to help roll it into a ball.
• The bee flies with these loads in the pollen baskets on its hind legs to the beehive.
• House bees push these loads with their heads into the honeycomb cells, together with a
small amount of honey and saliva. The bees then process this mixture and it ripens into bee
bread.

Composition
- Pollen contains lipids, essential
oils, vitamin E (tocopherol),
carbohydrates, peptides, short
proteins or oligopeptides, amino
acids, pantothenic acid,
anthocyanins, carotenoids,
flavonoids, ferulic acids and
enzymes as well as many minerals
such as iron, manganese, zinc and
spore elements.
Uses:-
1. Health benefits
- The biologically active substances, such as anthocyanins, carotenoids and flavenoids, in
pollen help cleanse the blood by scavenging free radicals.
- Pollen improves mental health and enhances the blood flow to the brains. It is a
supplemental source of vitamins B2, B6 and B12.
- Pollen is used for improving fertility, relieving the discomforts of old age, and combating
the symptoms of menopause, an enlarged prostate and stress.

2. Antibacterial Agent
- Studies have shown that substances in bee pollen are effective in fighting certain
bacterial and viral infections such as Giardia and Salmonella.
-

• 3. Immunity Booster
High levels of vitamins, antioxidants, and essential minerals give the body a needed boost
to ward off infections, and increase immune system functioning.
• In addition, high levels of antioxidants help repair cellular damage caused by foreign
pathogens and other free radicals.
4. Cardiovascular Health

• An antioxidant found in bee pollen known as Rutin, has been shown to increase the
strength of blood vessels, capillaries, and improve circulation.
• Bee pollen has proven effective in lowering cholesterol and triglyceride levels, both which
contribute to good heart health.

5. Other uses of bee pollen include

 Cancer Fighting Properties
 Allergy Inhibitor
 Energy and Strength Enhancement
 Weight Loss
4. Royal Jelly
- The young bees add secretions from glands on their heads to the ingested bee bread to
make bee milk or royal jelly. They put this bee milk in cells that contain young larvae.

- It is secreted from the glands in the hypopharynx of nurse bees, and fed to all larvae in
the colony, regardless of sex or caste

Chemical Composition :
Royal jelly is 67% water, 12.5% protein, 11%
simple sugars (monosaccharides), 6% fatty
acids and 3.5% 10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid
(10-HDA)

Properties:
• The acidic fraction royalisin makes royal
jelly effective in combating a broad
spectrum of bacteria, but not fungi.
• Royalisin contains gamma globulins, which
are important amino acids in the immune
system.
• 10-hydroxy-2-decanoic acid (10-HDA),
which plays a role in growth, the hormonal
system and the immune system.
Uses
- Royal jelly is recommended for stomach, liver and digestion problems, high blood
pressure, loss of appetite, weight loss, fatigue, listlessness, insomnia, pregnancy,
menopause, old-age problems.
- Royal jelly can be viewed as a tonic to make you feel stronger, healthier and less tired.
- In many countries it is also added to energy drinks.
- Capsules with dried royal jelly are commonly used in apitherapy.
- For external use, royal jelly is added to creams and salves, because it enhances or
preserves the beauty of the skin. It stimulates the formation of healthy tissue and hair
growth.
5). Bee Brood
- Bee brood is made up of eggs, larvae and pupae in the comb
- The larvae and pupae are especially suited for
consumption.
- Harvesting brood is bad for the development of the
colony, so the larvae and pupae of drones are usually used
because the colony is less dependent on them

Uses-

- In a few world areas, people eat the brood (eggs, larvae and pupae) of honeybees.

- For example, in Africa honey hunters often eat the bee brood as they steal the
colony.

- In Asia, eating of the brood of Apis florea, Apis cerana, and other species occurs
widely.
In Asia bee brood is also lyophilised and marketed as a powder for health foods and
drinks.
 6. Propolis
- Propolis is made by bees out of tree gums, glues, waxes and resins.
- These can be found around the flower buds and are excreted as drops from the tree's
bark if it is cut or cracked.
- The bees bring them on their hind legs, just like pollen, to the hive, and mix with their
own wax and saliva. This produces propolis.
- It is sticky, brown and fragrant. The bees use it to fill undesired holes or cracks in the walls
of the hive and they polish their cells as protection for the future brood.

- Propolis contains no proteins, carbohydrates

or fats and therefore has no energy value.
USES OF PROPOLIS
• It is used in ointment for healing
wounds and cuts.
• Taking propolis daily helps in the
prevention of constipation
• When used in tooth pastes it
prevents mouth and gum disorder
such as gum recession.

- Propolis mixed with mulberry leaf

decrease blood sugar level in patience
with type two diabetes .
7. Bee Venom
- The bee venom is made in the venom gland and is stored in a venom sac at the base of
the stinger. The venom sac of young bees is not filled until their 15th to 20th day, when
it contains about 0.3 mg of liquid venom.
- The spring bees that are raised with a lot of pollen have the most effective venom.
- Bee venom dissolves in water but not in oil. Alcohol is harmful to bee venom.

- Composition:-
Bee venom is a mixture of histamine,
pheromones, enzymes, peptides, amino
acids and other acids, with 63
components in total. The main enzymes
present are phospholipase A,
hyaluronidase, and lecithinase; while the
main peptides are mellitin, apamin and
peptide 401.

- Venom is harvested by submitting bees to electric fields when they feel the electric
shock , bees sting into a metal gauze behind which is a glass sheet.
- This is left to dry, after which the dried venom is crapped from the glass sheet
USES OF VENOM
• It is used in therapy against bee sting allergy.

• It use in apitherapy, especially for treatment of rheumatism and arthritis.

 8. Bee Bread
- Bee Bread is actually the main source of food for most larvae and bees. It is fed to all larvae
except those that are selected to become queens; the queen larvae are fed royal jelly
instead.
- Bees make bee bread out of the pollen that they have collected.
- The collected pollens are pressed into pellets with
a small amount of honey and saliva. This undergoes
biochemical processes caused by enzymes added through
the bees’ saliva and stomach fluids.
Uses
- Comprised of all essential amino acids, high contents
of vitamins especially vitamin K, enzymes, and
flavanoids,
- It is known to be useful in treating anemia, hepatitis,
insomnia, stress, failing memory, cholesterol and
digestive tract disorder.
- Bee bread helps children in improving memory, weight gain and fights obesity.
- Bee bread also has antibiotic properties: it inhibits the development of bacteria and
viruses and helps reduce fever.
References for further reading

1. Economic zoology
By professor gs shukla and vb upadhyay

2. Bee Products (properties, processing and marketing )

1st Edition Book
By Marieke Mutsaers, Henk van Blitterswijk, Leen van 't Leven, Jaap Kerkvliet, Jan
van de Waerdt