Health Promoting Properties of Bee Royal Jelly: Food of the Queens

Abstract

Royal jelly (RJ) demand is growing every year and so is the market for functional foods in general. RJ is formed by different substances, mainly carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids, but also vitamins, minerals, and phenolic or volatile compounds in lower proportion. Major royal jelly proteins (MRJP) are, together with 10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid (10-HDA), key substances of RJ due to their different biological properties. In particular, 10-HDA is a unique substance in this product. RJ has been historically employed as health enhancer and is still very relevant in China due to the traditional medicine and the apitherapy. Nowadays, it is mainly consumed as a functional food or is found in supplements and other formulations for its health-beneficial properties. Within these properites, anti-lipidemic, antioxidant, antiproliferative, antimicrobial, neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, antiaging, and estrogenic activities have been reported for RJ or its specific components. This manuscript is aimed at reviewing the current knowledge on RJ components, their assessment in terms of authenticity, their biological activities, and related health applications.

Searching for Differences in Chemical Composition and Biological Activity of Crude Drone Brood and Royal Jelly Useful for Their Authentication

“…Royal jelly (RJ) is a yellowish-white, creamy, acidic secretion from the mandibular and hypopharyngeal glands of young worker bees (the so-called nurses) of the Apis mellifera species [ 3 ]. It serves as the most important part of the honeybee larvae diet, including both worker and drone larvae, playing a major role in caste differentiation.…”

“…Scientific researchers have shown that royal jelly is a rich source of protein, carbohydrates, lipids, minerals, and vitamins, as well as female sex hormones. It was shown that royal jelly given to the mother larvae has a richer chemical composition (more sugars, juvenile hormones and acids) than that intended for other larvae [ 1 , 3 ]. Royal jelly lipids consist of fatty acids (90%), sterols, glycerides, and phospholipids.…”

Bee Products: A Representation of Biodiversity, Sustainability, and Health

“…Royal jelly is mainly constituted by water, proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids, as well as trace amounts of minerals, vitamins, and phenols, which are present in small quantities [ 72 ]. Proteins represent the most abundant fraction when considering only the dry matter of royal jelly [ 34 ], and the majority of them (82–90%, w / w ), the so-called Major Royal Jelly Proteins (MRJPs), are well studied [ 34 ].…”

Bioactives from Bee Products and Accompanying Extracellular Vesicles as Novel Bioactive Components for Wound Healing

“…Some of the observed beneficial health effects include documented anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral and antioxidant effects. Some honeybee products also showed antitumor effects [ 43 , 44 , 45 ]. The majority of the research has been done in preclinical setup, and the observed health effects are mainly attributed, but not confined entirely, to polyphenolic constituents.…”