2015
Patrick M Fratellone MD RH (AHG) FIM

 

For the past ten years, beekeeping has increased due to increased awareness of the disappearance of the bees since Colony Collapse Disorder. Most of the disappearance of honey bees can be attributed to the use of pesticides. Apitherapy is the science and art of maintaining health with the use of the products of the honeybee hive. These products are honey, bee pollen, propolis, royal jelly and bee venom. I have been beekeeping for the last 10 years. I use every product of the beehive for self and patient use.

 

Historical Aspects

Beekeeping is not new to civilizations. Humans started collecting
honey from bees approximately 9000 years ago. A rock painting found near Valencia, Spain dating from 7000 B.C shows a man gathering honey. Drawings on Egyptian Temples built about 2400 B.C. show bee keeping and honey preparation. In the oldest medical papyri of Egypt, dating back to 1553-1550 B.C, there are indications that honey was used to heal wounds.

Ancient writings including the Talmud, the Bible, scrolls from the Orient, ancient Greece and Rome all praised honey and bee pollen as a source of youthfulness and health. Different cultures have used honey.

The Koran in a section titled “The Bee” says honey is a “medicine for men” In the Orient a mixture of honey and pollen was used as a poultice on wounds and as a health tonic. In India the tonics prescribed ‘to give pleasure’ and ‘to preserve youth’ were mainly prepared from honey.

A diet in which honey and milk were the main items was thought to
prolong life.

The great scholar and physician, Hippocrates wrote “honey and pollen cause warmth, clean sores and ulcers, soften hard ulcers of the lips, heal carbuncles and running sores”. Historically, Alexander the Great in ancient Greece was treated with bee stings for hip pain and Charlemagne, the“8th” Century conqueror was cured of gout by bee stings [3]. The use of bee venom therapy was discussed in 1858 in C.W. Wolf’s book, The Poison of the Honey Bee, which is considered a therapeutic agent.

Bee Venom Therapy (BVT)

Most individuals know about honey and bee pollen. Few know about bee venom therapy. Bee venom therapy has been used to treat rheumatoid arthritis for centuries. Charlie Mraz a beekeeper from Vermont started treating people with arthritis and pain in the mid 1930’s with live bee stings. He learned about bee venom therapy from a New York physician, Bodog F. Beck, author of Bee Venom Therapy, who was treating arthritis with bee venom [4]. C.C Miller, a physician gave up his practice to raise bees and wrote a book, «Fifty Years of Beekeeping» Bee venom therapy, either by using a live honeybee or by a transdermal injection has been used to treat Multiple Sclerosis for decades.

There is documentation of the beneficial aspects to the patient, the regression of symptoms and decrease in progression of their disease. There are more than sixty identifiable components in bee venom. Most of the bee venom components are anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and act as antioxidants. There are many other conditions where bee venom has been used as arthritis, post herpetic neuralgia, and adhesive capsulitis. I have used bee venom therapy for my own autoimmune condition by using live honeybees administered by an acupuncturist.

 

Propolis

The next component of the bee hive that individuals know have
limited knowledge is propolis. Propolis is primarily composed of resins collected by the bees from trees and plants. All propolis is not the same and changes with the type of plant, climate, soil and season. This sticky substance which acts like a cement to hold the hive together has medicinal properties. It contains over 180 components which contain waxes 10-35%, essential oils 6-10%, pollen 5%, minerals as Mg, Ca, I, Na, Cu, Zn, Mn, Fe, vitamins such as A, B1, B2, B6, C, E, and enzymes.

Propolis has been used for the pharynx in the following conditions: acute & chronic gums erosions, denture soreness, plaque gingivitis, and periodontal disease [10]. It has been studied and research for radiation protection as well as tissue regeneration. Propolis has antibacterial, antiviral, [11] anti-parasitic and anti-cancer properties.

I have used propolis to treat external warts, [12] otitis media [13] and autoimmune diseases, especially psoriasis [14]. More individuals should be using propolis every day.