• Comparison of bioactive compounds of honey and royal jelly in controlling infectious diseases
  • Marzieh Khosravi,1,* Elahe Mahmoodi Khaledi,2
    1. Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Kashan, kashan, Iran
    2. Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Kashan, kashan, Iran


  • Introduction: Bee products such as honey, propolis, and royal jelly, in addition to their nutritional value, have many therapeutic properties, including antimicrobial properties, accelerating wound healing, treating digestive disorders, and protective effects on reproductive health. Honey is a natural sweetener. The composition and quality of honey depend on various factors and has many therapeutic properties such as antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal. Biological activities of honey depend on phenolic compounds, such as phenolic acids and flavonoids. Different types of honey such as Manuka, thymol, pine and chestnut have strong healing and antioxidant properties (1). Royal jelly (RJ), as a bee product, has received attention for its medicinal properties, including antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anticancer activity. RJ has multiple biological properties such as anti-tumor, anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory and immune system regulation (2).
  • Methods: Honey is a solution rich in fructose and glucose, which, in addition to sugar, contains various nutrients such as vitamins (C, B6, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid), minerals (calcium, copper, magnesium, iron, manganese, potassium, phosphorus, sodium, zinc) and bioactive compounds such as polyphenols (phenolic acids and flavonoids). The exact composition of phenolics in honey varies depending on the type of plant from which the bees collected the nectar. Royal jelly is a viscous gelatinous substance composed mainly of water, protein and carbohydrates. . This substance is rich in minerals, vitamins, enzymes and bioactive compounds such as royalactin, 10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid and polyphenols. Polyphenol compounds in royal jelly include phenolic acids and flavonoids, which have many medicinal properties. Honey inhibits the growth of bacteria with its low acidity, high osmotic pressure and antioxidant compounds (3).
  • Results: Honey is a natural product rich in nutrients that has various healing properties. This substance is effective against microbial infections, prevents the proliferation of malignant cells, reduces blood sugar levels in diabetic patients, and protects the nervous, respiratory, and digestive systems (4). Due to its antimicrobial, antioxidant, antitumor, immune system modulating, estrogenic, anti-inflammatory, liver protection and nerve protection properties, royal jelly is used in food, cosmetic, health and medical fields. RJ fights against a wide range of pathogenic bacteria such as P. aeruginosa, E. coli and S. aureus. RJ shows promise as an alternative treatment for life-threatening health conditions. Because of their antimicrobial properties,honey and royal jelly have a high potential to replace antibiotic drugs (5).
  • Conclusion: With the increase of antimicrobial resistance, bee products have been proposed as a natural and promising source to deal with bacteria, fungi and microorganisms. These products have a strong antimicrobial activity that depends on their chemical composition. Bee products, such as royal jelly, propolis and honey, are rich sources of bioactive compounds with diverse biological properties. The composition of these products is significantly different due to the diversity in the diet of bees. Studies have shown that bee products have an effective role, especially in wound healing. The antimicrobial, antioxidant, immune-modulating and anti-inflammatory properties of these products accelerate the wound healing process (6).
  • Keywords: Honey, Royal jelly, Antimicrobial, Antioxidant