Propolis: What Bees Use for Shelter, Humans May Begin Use for Cancer Treatment

What is Propolis?

Propolis is a mixture of resins that is located in the sap and buds of trees.  The color of it most often is brown, but it can vary by region, depending on the type of plant it is harvested from.  It has been found to be red, green, and in some instances even black or white.  So the exact composition can have variance.  It is contained in both deciduous and conifer trees.

Since before man, bees have used it mostly for purposes of reinforcing their shelter.  They utilize it in sealing applications for unwanted holes and breached barriers.  It is also used as a vibration dampener, and to cover a small animal that may have invaded and died within the hive that is too heavy for them to carry out.  Propolis seals and mummifies them so they do not putrefy within the hive.  Lastly, they use it as an inhibitor of fungal or bacterial growth.  This last use is perhaps what first gave man the idea that it could fight disease.

A jar of harvested propolis. 
Author Maša Sinreih in Valentina Vivod, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

How Long Has Man Been Using Propolis?

The original use of propolis dates back to the Egyptians.  They, and later the ancient Greeks and Romans, used it as an antiseptic and antibacterial for both wound treatment, ulcers, and abscesses.  It is also possible that the ancient Arabs may have utilized it as well.  Medicinal manuscripts refer to a dark or black wax that is described as a drug against eczema and rheumatism.

In medieval times, propolis use was rare in mainstream medicine.  Only a few references in manuscripts refer to its use as a remedy for various dental abscesses and some oral infections.

Medicine reintroduced its interest in propolis in the early 19th century.  French pharmacists experimented with the curious compound, which has now been linked to the advancement of the understanding of chemical processes even outside of health.

Propolis, depending on the health issue, is either ingested, or is introduced as a component of a topical ointment.

Anticancer Properties

In recent years, it is now thought that this wondrous substance that bees discovered could yield a new frontier in the fight against cancer.  It is not only holisitic and alternative medicine that is touting it, it is also being investigated in the allopathic medicinal community.

There have been over 180 beneficial compounds discovered in propolis, but one in particular is being studied.  It is known as CAPE, or caffeic acid phenethyl ester.

In laboratory experiments almost a decade ago, CAPE prevented colon cancer cells from multiplying and caused cell death of the malignant cells.  Even more importantly, it did this without destroying, or even affecting the normal, healthy cells.  That ability was confirmed by Banskota et al 2001, and by Suzuki et al, the next year.  After those results, it was experimented on in other types of cancer, such as stomach, brain, pancreatic, and breast. The trials again showed that it has the ability to selectively stop the malignant cell replication, destroy cancer cells,,and block the growth of new tumors.

An even more recent, and more exciting discovery is that propolis can not only stop and attack cancer cells, but it has the ability to change gene expression, whose mutations are the root cause of cancer.  Propolis has also demonstrated the ability to enhance the effects of typical chemotherapies in these various cancers. 

The anti-inflammatory properties of many of the compounds in propolis have also led to the belief that it might be even more effective as prevention, eaten as a whole food, and not just taken as a medicine to combat a disease like cancer.