Propolis is a product produced by bees from plant exudates, which they employ to protect the colony. Being recognized for its medicinal and other therapeutic qualities, propolis has been harvested and used by many civilizations for thousands of years. Since the 1980s, considerable research concerning chemical diversity, analytical methods, extraction processes, and therapeutic properties has been published. Numerous scientific articles have shown antimicrobial, antifungal, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, immunoregulatory, and other biological properties of propolis, especially in in vitro and animal models. More importantly, well-conducted clinical studies investigating the therapeutic benefit of propolis in treating a wide range of diseases have become considerably more common. In addition, many older case studies and basic clinical studies can be found in the scientific literature. However, a valid criticism coming from those studies is that propolis is not a uniform substance in terms of chemical compositions and varies according to plant sources and regions.
Our main objective in organizing this research topic is to increase our understanding of how propolis can function in clinical settings. There is considerable evidence that propolis could be therapeutically beneficial, and clinical studies motivated by such evidence frequently confirm its utility. A barrier to the recognition of propolis as a medicinal product is that it varies in terms of compositions and biological activities.. Consequently, there is now a need to use chemically well-characterised propolis products, which allows rigorously controlled and reproducible studies being conducted. As a result, propolis is increasingly being considered a valid therapeutic option. Despite the considerable evidence about its usefulness for human and animal health, there are still some unknowns with regards to its mechanisms of action, especially concerning how propolis helps improve the ability of the body to overcome specific pathologies. It is essential that the therapeutic claims assessed are based on solid biomedical concepts and that the measures used are internationally accepted and validated clinical tools. We anticipate that with an improved understanding of its mode of action and further demonstration of therapeutic benefits in clinical settings, health practitioners will be more inclined to include propolis as a useful and safe option for patient care.
In recent years, the overall quality of research on bee products has improved significantly. To help fully understand the potential role of propolis as a health product, this research topic will mainly focus on pharmacological studies that clearly demonstrate the safety and therapeutic benefits of propolis for various diseases and pathologies. These will include studies on dose-response, absorption, and distribution in the body, therapeutic properties in in vitro and in vivo models, clinical and other types of studies, involving the use of propolis extracts and isolated components in various types of pharmacological presentation. Considering the great botanical and chemical variability of propolis worldwide, data on chemical characterization and botanical source are an important detail. Detailed information about the composition of the formulations and/or technologies used in order to improve the quality of the information for the health practitioners, is also appreciated.
Conflict of Interest declaration
Andresa A. Berretta, is pharmacist graduated and post-graduated by Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo (FCFRP/USP), where did her master, doctoral and post-doctoral degree. She is currently the R&D Leader of a private company called Apis Flora Indl. Coml. Ltda., situated at Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil. She is also the current president of ABEMEL, a Brazilian Association of Companies and Exporters of Bee Products (2022/2023), is the convenorship of the Working Group 2 of ISO, TC34/SC19, who is leadering the construction of the first International Standard of Propolis after being indicated for the countries part of ISO, besides the co-founder of an Startup AgroBee, focused on the pollination services in Brazil.
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All the manuscripts submitted to the collection will need to fully comply with the
Four Pillars of Best Practice in Ethnopharmacology (you can freely download the full version
here).