Pollen Aid
Prostanex
Graminex Flower
Pollen Extract
The Healing Power of Pollen
Chapter Twelve: Propolis-Nature's Medical Miracle
‘Nature is the art of God.’ – Dante (1321)
Although much of this book is about pollen, I share with Paul Urban of Melbrosin the belief that propolis, the sweet-smelling resin used by the bees as a sealing compound in their hives, will soon be thought of as a major medical breakthrough, perhaps even as important as the discovery of penicillin.
I have watched the changes in medical opinion in those centres of research where propolis has been investigated during the past few years alter from one of complete cynicism to the enthusiastic use of propolis for many different illnesses. I count many of those who have done and inspired this work among my friends and hope that you too can benefit from their exciting discoveries.
Take, for example, Mitja Vosnjak, author of The Miracle of Propolis (Thorsons). He is no ordinary man. His meteoric rise in the Yugoslav Diplomatic Corps led him from being Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs to the post of Ambassador of Austria in the romantic capital, Vienna.
He found that his demanding life as a diplomat, poet and novelist was taking a heavy toll on his health. He felt that boundless reserves of vitality that had stood him in such good stead in times of stress and crisis were ebbing away in the prime of his life, and what was more his eyesight was failing.
Then he met Paul Urban. He told him of the discoveries he had been making for improving health with the products of the bees and in spite of his doubt at such an idea he started on a course of Melbrosia for Men, a mixture of pollen and royal jelly.
He found that his failure in health and eyesight were both restored because of the micronutrients present in pollen and he became so excited that he gave up his distinguished career and began a new life devoted to finding out more about the bees.
Since 1974, as the director of the Centre for Biotic Research, he has interested many distinguished scientists from many lands in the subject of api-therapy (the medical application of bee products). Discovery led to discovery. Propolis, he found, was perhaps the first nontoxic anti-infective agent. Today this one-time ambassador and honorary General of the Army quietly continues what has become his life’s quest.
Mitja Vosnjak has written of his experiences and of the romantic story leading up to our present day understanding in his book The Miracle of Propolis. Often, Paul Urban, Mitja Vosnjak and I have exchanged information and experiences of the remarkable results achieved with propolis and pollen. I have also learnt much from Professor Dr. Izet Osmanagic who has done much fundamental research work with propolis as well as with pollen.
The composition of propolis is very complex, including perhaps thirty percent of various waxes, fifty-five percent resins and balsams, ten percent ethereal oils and five percent pollen. In addition a whole series of unusual compounds are present in small amounts. Every few years more substances are discovered and it is certain that we have a lot to learn yet.
A few people who are sensitive to propolis and tests at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary showed that approximately one person in every two thousand might show a puffy redness of the skin when it has been touched by propolis. This can be quite a problem for beekeepers who must continually come into contact with it, but a silicone barrier cream has been shown to be effective. I suffer from this allergy myself but it does not afflict any other members of the family. Also it does not seem to lessen the good effects of propolis when taken internally or as a gargle.
The first clue as to the real advantages of propolis in scientific terms seems to be by a Frenchman, P. Lavie, who wrote about the antibacterial substances found in bee colonies as far back as 1960. He found that when propolis from hives was treated with hot water or hot alcohol it gave an antibiotic extract that remained stable for many months in a refrigerator. Poplar buds, an especial favourite for bees to make their propolis from, contained an almost identical antibiotic and no other tree was so active. He also found that propolis proved effective as a fungicide and it is the one product of the bee to have this effect. So the truth began to be realized that propolis was, in fact, the bees’ way of maintaining a healthy, illness-free environment in their densely packed hives.
As is so often the case with natural medicine, all the scientist does is to prove the experiences of generations to be right and to allow them to be used in a more far-reaching and effective way than before. As far back as at the time of Aristotle, propolis was used as a remedy for bad bruises and strains. Pliny used propolis for nerve illnesses, ulcers and many other serious conditions.
A mixture of propolis and petroleum jelly called propol was used for the treatment of wound and skin diseases in the Boer War and also for disinfecting surgical instruments and hands. Stradivarius, the most famous violinmaker the world has ever known, is thought to have included a large proportion of propolis in the vital varnish to create his distinctive and unsurpassed tone.
The Medical Applications of Propolis in Soviet Medicine
Russian doctors are very advanced in the use of natural medicines. For example, Siberian ginseng (Eleutherococcus senticosus) received its first clinical trials there and is now widely used in combination with many other substances, especially vitamin B15.
The Russians discovered that the early herb book of Adam Lonicerus mentioned propolis as a poultice in 1679. He pointed out that the honey bees use it for sealing the entrance to the bee hives against drafts and for stopping up cracks and other openings and even erect flap-like viaducts with propolis for the control of fresh air. Foreign materials and other insects that have got into the hive are covered with propolis.
In 1958 the Russians reported that propolis held tuberculosis in check and later on they confirmed the remarkable effect on fungi of the Candida group. It could even be added to anti-toxins such as the tetanus anti-toxin to increase the effect with quite remarkable and excellent results. The Russians also discovered that propolis reduces blood pressure and has a calming effect on the nervous system. Coupled with this calming effect is a stimulating effect on the process of the regeneration of tissue.
Wounds are held more quickly, all sorts of ulcers, inflammation, skin diseases and even corns demonstrate that proplis is not confined to a limited range of applications but indeed advantage can be taken of its natural properties over a wide spectrum of activity.
The Russians prepare an extract of propolis by putting one part by weight of propolis with two parts of alcohol and allowing it to rest for three or four days, shaking it repeatedly. By weighing the various extractions after the result has been filtered it is possible to find the exact concentration of the alcoholic extraction which varies between two and fifteen percent. This seems to contain all the necessary active ingredients.
Soviet literature cites a multitude of therapeutic examples. Chandross used propolis for war injuries. Domracev found it remarkably effective on wounds that were healing slowly especially after amputations. Demeckij found propolis ointment a good remedy for second degree burns. On top of this all workers found that it had a very extraordinary anaesthetic property. This was found very useful, coupled with the healing virtues in, for example, the treatment of sore nipples. Some cases of eczema also benefited although one must always be slightly worried in case the propolis produces its own allergic effect.
Inflammations of the ear are often cured with propolis. It is also used on operation wounds following the removal of the tonsils, sealing them perfectly. After the operation repeated applications of propolis remove pain and hasten healing. A strong 20 percent propolis extract taken by mouth is frequently used to cure both gastric and duodenal ulcers.
Propolis is a standard feature in the major Russian medical encyclopedias to the extent that there is said to be a shortage of supplies. I do not believe that the Russian experiences with propolis have previously been reported in English and so it is pleasant to mention an area where there can be no iron curtains but simply a universal desire to help heal the sick.
Propolis Against Viruses and the ‘Flu
In Chapter 2 in the section on interferon, I described the work on influenza and Vaccinia viruses of Drs. Filipic and Likar. Professor Osmanagic put these theoretical findings to a practical test in May 1976 when a particularly virulent epidemic of influenza was sweeping through his native town of Sarajevo. He chose a group which were in particular danger of succumbing because of their close contact – a training college where 1,200 nursing students and teachers were living together throughout the day but returning to their homes in various parts of the town in the evenings.
Eighty-five students and teachers who were without any symptoms of influenza were told to take a teaspoonful of Melbrosin propolis diluted with honey every day for between forty and fifty days. Some of them could not be bothered and so in the end 63 from six classes took the product and 157 did not.
Only about one in ten of the students who took propolis became infected and half of those caught their ‘flu only three or four days after beginning the preventative treatment so there would have been very little chance of resistance building up. The control group was very much less fortunate; almost one in four of them succumbed to the infection. The teachers who took propolis did even better only one out of twenty-five having even a mild attack, which was fortunate because so many of their colleagues were ill that they were able to help out.
Mouth Ulcers
Especially in children, mouth ulcers can be very troublesome and irritating. A little dab of pure propolis tincture containing between two and five percent of propolis for two or three days generally cures them completely and has been a great blessing to my own children at such times.
Warts and Verrucae
A verruca is the Latin name for a wart and doctors are not very good at treating them. Powerful tissue poisons such as formaldehyde are frequently used to kill off the surface layers of skin, which then have to be scraped away and the treatment continued for a long time. A daily or twice daily application of propolis tincture seems to work much more quickly and more effectively than the normal remedies and is definitely worth trying.
Candida Albicans
The fungus, Candida albicans is assuming plague proportions, in fact in Germany the situation is reported to be getting worse every day. Every other person is said to suffer from some kind of chronic fungus infection. Such parasites invade the skin and hair, eat the beds of the nails, and inflame the lining of the lungs and even the inner walls of the heart. Our living habits and our civilization have made possible the spread of this mini-relation of the mushroom.
Fungus can only survive where it is warm and damp, for example in nylon socks and rubber boots, under nylon petticoats, in central heating and in the fluffy fur of pet animals. Hygiene and the use of drugs have also worked to the advantage of the fungus more room to move. In fact, the very use of anti-biotics can suppress the bacteria, which would normally keep the fungus in check.
Candida is a particular problem because it grows everywhere in hospitals – in the air, on the floor and even on the nurses themselves. They often don’t notice it because they have a strong resilient constitution but there is certainly a danger to patients weakened by operations and through the administration of drugs.
Statistically speaking, in Germany every third vagina is infected with Candida albicans. Some doctors blame the pill and very free sex-life among the young. The hormones in the pill change the constituents of the secretions in the vagina increasing the proportion of glycogen creating an environment very suitable for the spread of fungus.
It now looks as if work with propolis will provide the remedy. A propolis pessary is achieving remarkable cure rates. Scientific work to prove this began with a group of four doctors led by Dr. Ishida of the Tohoku University School of Medicine in Japan.
This work was carried on by Dr. Cizmarik and Dr. Troupl, of the University of Bratislava, who tested propolis on a whole range of fungi and achieved a high standard of results. They extended their trial in 1976 and concluded that propolis is a substance with remarkable effectiveness for all fungal infections of the skin and body.
Acne
In cases of bad acne and other nasty spots on the skin a tiny dab of propolis tincture every day (preferably several times a day) promotes extremely rapid healing and the propolis also forms an invisible protective coat which protects against renewed infection allowing reddening to subside, the blemishes to dry, fall off and soon disappear.
Shingles
Shingles, or Herpes Zoster as it is medically termed, is painful and unpleasant. At the symposium on api-therapy at Portoroz in Yugoslavia in September 1978 Dr. Franz Feiks of the Klosterneuburg Hospital in Austria reported how the immediate pain relieving effect of propolis in patients with ulcers led him on to decide to treat the local skin sores of herpes with the same substance. He tried the treatment on twenty-one cases that each were given a five percent solution of Melbrosia propolis tincture each day as a dressing on the affected parts. In all of the twenty-one cases Dr. Feiks reported that the pain disappeared in forty-eight hours and did not reappear. In three of these cases itching persisted for a long period of time in all the others that common accompaniment to shingles disappeared. Indeed, in nineteen of the patients the skin sores were healed without any recurrence so that only two cases had a new development of their illness.
Dr. Feiks tried to apply, for the sake of convenience, the tincture in the form of a spray but the resin gummed it up so he had to put it on with a little brush. Dr. Feiks concluded that the viruses must actually have been killed and that there was direct influence on the inflamed nerve fibres. He considers the results to be statistically significant and an important new field of application.
Sinuses and Disease of the Upper Respiratory Tract
Dr. M.M. Frenkel from Russia spoke at Portoroz of the ever-increasing medical recognition for bee products, which are being used more and more successfully in the treatment of diseases. Honey, bee venom, royal jelly, propolis and pollen all supplement the normal range of therapeutic substances because of their considerable activity, low toxicity, easy availability and simple use.
Many Soviet researchers have done much work in the study of bee products regarding their healing effects and their chemical structure. But Dr. Frenkel reported two completely new developments which considerable extended the usefulness of propolis. Firstly, he used propolis as an anaesthetic during surgery on the various organs and secondly, he found propolis to be an effective treatment for diseases of the upper part of the respiratory tract and the sinuses.
The commonly used local anaesthetic cocaine has the fundamental disadvantage of considerable toxicity. Dr. Frenkel used propolis anaesthesia in two ways, by means of the painting on of a ten to thirty percent solution of alcohol and propolis and by using a process called propolis-solution-electrophoresis. This involved using a dynamic electrical current in conjunction with the propolis solution.
Polyps, or small growths, were removed in this way from the ear and the nose and additionally sinuses were cleaned. He found that the effectiveness of the anaesthesia quite as good as that of cocaine but in the case of propolis there were no side effects at all.
Indeed, as regards the length of the anaesthesia the reduced bleeding and the complete absence of side effects he found that propolis showed many useful advantages. The treatment of the upper parts of the respiratory tract and the sinuses with propolis accelerated healing by at least twice as much as with any antibiotic and anti-inflammatory substance so far discovered.
The Future of Propolis
It is never easy to persuade the medical profession to even look at a new medicine. Sir Alexander Fleming waited many years for his due recognition following the discovery of penicillin. Now, one of the great threats to anyone who visits a hospital is the terrible danger of picking up an antibiotic resistant germ. A new generation of so-called ‘super germs’ is now appearing for which there is no known remedy.
Medical research is breathtakingly expensive and in all countries scientists are turning more and more to natural substances before changes in the environment create a loss of species or of a substance that may never again be replaced unless measures are taken to protect it.
All the signs are that propolis, whilst not being any sort of cure-all, simply has to be in every first-aid box, medicine cabinet, hospital pharmacy and doctor’s bag. As more products become available so the range of the field of applications becomes greater.
A propolis gel is being used experimentally by dentists with excellent results against gingivitis and pyorrhoea. Cosmetic creams based on propolis are helping women (and in these liberated days probably men too for that matter) towards a more beautiful and well-toned skin. We have so much for which we must give thanks to man’s friend the bee.
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