Recently, the Chinese Journal of Apiculture published a review paper on the latest research progress on bee products and novel coronavirus, discussing the role of bee products in the treatment and prevention of Covid-19.
2022-12-09, the Chinese Journal of Apiculture published a review paper on “Research on the Treatment and Prevention of Covid-19 with Bee Products” published by the team of Liu Guolong, Lu Suyuan, Wu Qiu, and Geng Yue. The latest research progress on coronavirus (Shandong Normal University Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Safety, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resistance Biology, Shandong Normal University School of Life Sciences).
The paper pointed out that the spread of the Covid-19 disease has become a major public health issue of international concern. However, even after a decade of coronavirus research, there is still no fully effective vaccine or drug that can directly block or treat coronavirus infection. In this context, bee products such as honey, pollen, propolis, royal jelly, beeswax, and bee venom have been shown to be a promising source of pharmaceuticals and nutritional agents against pathogens that cause severe respiratory syndrome, including human coronaviruses. It has a strong antiviral activity with a certain effect. Many bee products are involved in inducing antibody production, maturation of immune cells, and stimulation of innate and adaptive immune responses. Therefore, in the absence of specific antiviral drugs against SARS-COV-2, bee products may offer a possibility to mitigate the risk of outbreaks associated with COVID-19.
The article also describes several bee products that may help in the fight against the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). An excerpt follows:
Honey
and its major constituents are effective against COVID-19 infection due to their ability to modulate molecular targets involved in the virus’s attachment and entry into host cells and its RNA replication, as well as cellular signaling pathways, including oxidative stress, inflammation and apoptosis.
Propolis
It is considered that propolis may be more suitable for early chemoprevention of viruses on the basis that the antiviral activity of propolis is related to the presence of phenolic compounds such as galangin, chrysin, p-coumaric acid, kaempferol and quercetin, It is these phenolic compounds that can prevent or reduce the adsorption and entry of viruses to host cells.
Royal Jelly
The potential antiviral effect of royal jelly on the new coronavirus, scientists analyzed the main royal jelly proteins and their isomers by electronic computer to predict the impact of these proteins on virus entry, replication and virus-induced complications, these proteins in lung cells ( WI-38) showed high potency in the hydrolysis of sialic acid on the surface. Validated from this study, docking analysis revealed that these proteins have high binding affinity to the viral receptor binding site in the receptor binding domain, resulting in attachment prevention.
Bee venom
stimulates the immune system through dendritic cells, thereby activating cellular immunity. The antioxidant activity of bee venom is related to the reduction of reactive oxygen species (reactive oxygen species) and the increase of antioxidant enzymes, making bee venom positive for the body’s cellular immune function. Regulatory effect.
Beeswax
The effect of the crude extract of beeswax and its methanol, acetone and ethanol extracts on pathogenic bacteria and fungi has been found in four kinds of beeswax extracts, namely ethanol black beeswax (EBBW), ethanol white beeswax (EWBW), acetone white beeswax (AWBW) and Acetone Black Beeswax (ABBW), which are antiviral against DNA (adenovirus-7) and RNA (Rift Valley fever virus) viruses.
Bee Pollen
The debate over the role of bee pollen against the novel coronavirus is the greatest of any bee product. Some studies suggest that bee pollen has higher concentrations of phenolic substances, such as quercetin and kaempferol and their glycoside derivatives, and polyphenols have activity against CoVhs, such as SARS-CoV and MERS.
Conclusion
The paper concludes that bee products have been widely used for their medicinal value since ancient times. The role and effectiveness of different bee products in the treatment and prevention of the new coronavirus are quite different. In comparison, the bee products with more prominent effects are honey and propolis. Honey has a certain positive effect on fibrosis and immune regulation after infection with the new coronavirus, and can also affect the replication of the virus. Propolis can stimulate the adaptive immune response, thereby enhancing its preventive antiviral effect, while inhibiting the ACE2, TMPRSS2, and PAK1 signaling pathways, and can also regulate the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines to reduce the risk of cytokine storm syndrome.
Other bee products are not clear whether they have a positive effect on the treatment of new coronavirus due to few research experiments. But because of the antiviral properties of bee products and their ability to stimulate the immune system, it cannot be ruled out that they may have a direct preventive or palliative effect.
Overall, bee products may be a potentially promising adjuvant and alternative for the treatment of the novel coronavirus in the absence of specific drugs for the novel coronavirus.
