The relationship between telomere length and beekeeping among Malaysians

Abstract

The belief that beekeepers live longer than anyone else is present since ages. However, no research has been done to explore the longevity of life in beekeepers. Here, we investigated the telomere length in 30 male beekeepers and 30 male non-beekeepers and associated them with the longevity of life using Southern analysis of terminal restriction fragments (TRFs) generated by Hinf I/Rsa I digestion of human genomic DNA using TeloTAGGG Telomere Length Assay. Interestingly, we found that the telomere length of male beekeepers was significantly longer than those of male non-beekeepers with a p value of less than 0.05, suggesting that beekeepers may have longer life compared to non-beekeepers. We further found that the consumption of bee products for a long period and frequent consumption of bee products per day are associated with telomere length. An increase of year in consuming bee products is associated with a mean increase in telomere length of 0.258 kbp. In addition, an increase in frequency of eating bee products per day was also associated with a mean increase of 2.66 kbp in telomere length. These results suggested that bee products might play some roles in telomere length maintenance.

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“…Royal jelly prevents the entry into senescence of different cell groups [75]. Regular consumption of beehive products such as honey, pollen, and propolis reduces the speed with which telomere shortening occurs [76].…”

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“…The results proved the leading effect of honey bee. Nasir et al (2015) in Malaysia tested honey effect on telomerase enzyme by checking the telomeres length in bee keepers who consume honey for long time periods, which showed the longer telomeres length in the bee keepers is associated with the longer period of honey consumption that confirmed the positive effect of honey on telomeres length and telomerase enzyme. El-Kased et al (2017) in Egypt reported that 75% honeychitosan hydrogel possesses greater wound healing activity compared to commercial ones and safely used as an effective natural topical wound healing treatment Jenkhetkan et al (2017) tested the effect of royal gel on telomerase activity, and showed that treating the cells by royal gel at low doses caused maximum benefits.…”

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“…Lifestyle stress and environmental factors, such as diet, can influence telomere length [ 140 ]. The results of research involving human subjects showed that prolonged and frequent intake of bee products, including propolis, is linked to telomere length [ 141 ]. In Nasir et al’s (2015) study, which involved comparing beekeepers consuming bee products with non-beekeeper control subjects abstaining from bee products and beekeeping-related activities, it was observed that annual bee product consumption correlated with an average increase of 0.258 kbp in telomere length [ 141 ].…”

“…The results of research involving human subjects showed that prolonged and frequent intake of bee products, including propolis, is linked to telomere length [ 141 ]. In Nasir et al’s (2015) study, which involved comparing beekeepers consuming bee products with non-beekeeper control subjects abstaining from bee products and beekeeping-related activities, it was observed that annual bee product consumption correlated with an average increase of 0.258 kbp in telomere length [ 141 ]. The results also revealed that a greater daily frequency of bee product intake was associated with an average increment of 2.66 kbp in telomere length [ 141 ].…”