Bee Healthy
The benefits of bee products are hardly a secret. Beeswax, royal jelly, and of course honey have all been used by us for centuries.
Propolis is possibly the least known of all bee products but it is without doubt the most beneficial for human health.
Propolis is a resinous substance produced by honeybees which they make using exudate and resins collected from leaf and flower buds and cracks in the bark of trees.
Worker bees transport these resins to their hive by carrying them in their corbicula (the pollen basket on their hind legs) and then mix them with wax and saliva to produce a sticky, tar like substance called crude propolis. Bees use propolis as a sterile protective envelope around their hive. This powerful antimicrobial substance is spread around the hive entrance and in the egg chambers. It’s also used as an insulating material, to fill cracks and holes in the hive.
A Healthy Hive Culture
The antibacterial properties of crude propolis serve the purpose of keeping a low level of potentially harmful bacteria and fungi in the hive, thus preventing disease and infestation by parasites and protecting the colony and its larvae from harm.
[insert_image]
Propolis has a wide range of biological activities, and for this reason, it has been used as a traditional natural remedy since ancient times. It is believed that the use of propolis extends back to ancient Egypt, where propolis was used in the embalming process, and Hippocrates, considered the father of modern medicine, is thought to have used propolis to help heal wounds and ulcers.
Independently Tested
We produce three different grades of purified propolis extract.
All are independently laboratory tested and verified as being free from pesticides, heavy metals and other potentially harmful parabens and each batch is completely traceable back to the beekeeper from whose hives the propolis emanated.
[insert_image]
Our propolis extracts are used as natural alternatives to synthetic preservatives in cosmetics, OTC drugs and medical devices. We manufacture a food grade extract for use in supplements and probiotics and our highest grade propolis is used in natural health products.
Dr. Zenon Sosnowski MSc, PhD
Polish-born medical researcher Dr. Zenon Sosnowski MSc, PhD realised that the antimicrobial and medicinal properties that helped bees protect their hive had a larger role to play in human medicine, and through decades of research he developed the techniques we continue to use today to purify the crude material into the various grades of refined extract we use in our products.
[insert_image]
Shop
