ROYAL JELLY
Royal jelly is a special milky product produced by the nursing or house bees to feed the larvae. Larvae are the worm-like structures hatched from the eggs.
The queen bee is capable of laying at least 2000 eggs per day in its lifetime. The high egg-producing ovarian capacity of the queen bee is believed to be attributed to its lifetime feeding of Royal Jelly.
The eggs after grown into larvae are identified by the nursing bees as queens, drones(kings), workers, or nurses bees and are placed in separate compartments accordingly. (See Fig-1)
After that, the nursing bees feed them with a light white jelly-like substance known as Royal Jelly.
The Royal Jelly is secreted from the glands at the hypopharynx(lower portion of the throat and the entry into the food canal) of the nursing bees.
The nursing bees feed the larvae with Royal Jelly for three days without discrimination.
But after three days they stop to feed the drone larvae, and the worker larvae but continue to feed the queen larvae with Royal Jelly until it is a well-developed queen bee with healthy ovaries. The queen bee eats Royal Jelly as its food for its entire lifetime. The other worker larvae and the drone larvae are continued to feed with honey.
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| Fig 2 |
There are three types of honey bees. They are the queen bees, the drone bees, and the worker bees. The worker bees are some times called as nurse bees or house bees.
The queen bees are the largest in size and have the longest life span.
They are fertile females with strong well-developed ovaries that can able to lay down up to 2000 eggs per day in their lifetime.
The queen bees have a smooth sting at its back without a barb and venom. Usually, it would not come out of the hive, and they get fewer chances of biting a human being. But often it may bite other bees. Queen bee can bite repeatedly and it would not die. (See Fig-2)
The drone bees are the next largest in size and have the shortest life span.
The drone bees are fertile male bees with the strongest sexual mating power. But during mating with the queen bee when they attain the climax the erection and ejaculation would burst its male parts and the insect dies. Hence the drones would have only one chance of having sex in its lifetime.
Drone bees have no sting at their back. (See Fig-2)
The worker bees are smaller in size than the queen and the drone bees but larger in number and have higher in the job work. They are sterile females.
The worker bee is capable of traveling long distances to collect honey.
Some worker bees stay in the hives to do domestic jobs such as preparing food and feeding the queen bee and the young larvae.
When the worker bee brings honey the nursing or house bee receives it by mouth to mouth sucking or sucking directly from the stomach of the honey collecting bee and store it in the combs.
The worker bees are venomous and dangerous. They are very furious and curious. They are the defending soldiers of the hive. They have a strong sharply barbed sting with venom. But they will bite only once in their lifetime and they will die.
The source of Royal Jelly is the pollen grains of the flowers. While the worker bee sucks the nectar from the flower it also contaminated with pollen grains. The pollen grains are the best source of protein for honey and Royal Jelly. The worker bees are manipulating honey by adding many additives like enzymes, minerals, vitamins, phytochemicals, fatty acids, and antioxidants along with proteins from the pollen grains.
A gland at the throat side of the worker bee prepares a protein-enriched jelly with the high nutritional value from the pollen grains to feed the larvae The food is known as the Royal Jelly. (See Fig-2)
The Compositions Of Royal Jelly:-
Water 67%
Protein 13%
Simple sugars(Glucose+Fructose) 12%
Fatty Acids 06%
10-hydroxy,2-decanoic acid (HDA) 02%
Antibiotic components Traces
Minerals Traces
Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5) Traces
Pyridoxin (Vitamin B6) Traces
Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) Traces
But the RJ contains none of the fat-soluble vitamins such as Vitamins A, D, E, or K.
Proteins give the RJ much food value. There are five types of proteins in the RJ. They are known as Major Royal Jelly Proteins. They are MRJP-1 to 5.
The MRJP1 occupies the major position among the MRJPs. All these proteins are made by the worker bee and added to the RJ.
These proteins are attributed to be involved in differential development of the larvae into a queen and a worker bee.
Cultivation of Royal Jelly:-
Royal Jelly is produced or harvested by stimulating bees colonies with movable artificial hives to produce more queen bees.
Several queen cells are made in the artificial hives by placing 4 days of matured queen larvae in each chamber. At least 18 days old worker bees are carefully isolated and placed in each queen chambers to secrete RJ.
The queen larvae cell contains large quantities of RJ as deposits.
A well-managed hive with more queen cells during a season of 5 to 6 months can give 600gms of RJ.
Is RJ is beneficial to human beings?
There are many controversial and confused beliefs regarding this. There are very little medical proofs available about the benefits of RJ in people.
The compositions of RJ include proteins, fats, sugars vitamins, minerals, and many things that are good for health but most of them are present in traces which is sufficient only for a small insect, like the honey bee.
There is a belief that the transfat present in the RJ yields health benefits to the heart. Doctors recommend RJ as cardioprotective.
The protein and fat of the RJ are believed to be improving male sexual vigor and potency.
Some researchers say that there are possible beneficial relieving effects from menopausal sufferings.
RJ may improve feelings of well being in menopausal women.
Insufficient pieces of evidence of benefits for the following discomforts:-
1.Diabetic foot ulcers
Some early researches showed that applying a mixture of RJ and panthenol in a cream or ointment base for six months after cleaning and removing dead tissues may give beneficial relief.
2.Infertility.
It was believed in early days that applying a mixture of RJ, honey, and bee bread to the vagina for two weeks may increase the rate of pregnancy in couples with fertility problems due to reduced sperm movement (asthenozoospermia)
3.High Cholesterol
It is suggested by early research that taking RJ by mouth, by injection or by sublingual may reduce blood cholesterol.
4.Premenstrual Syndrom (PMS).
It is suggested by early research that taking products containing RJ, bee pollen, pollen and pistil extract by mouth for two menstrual cycles seems to relieve symptoms of PMS such as irritability, weight gain, and swelling.
5.Asthma
6.Liver Diseases
7.Pancreatitis
8.Sleeping trouble
9.Stomach ulcers
10.Kidney Disease
11.Bone Fractures
12.Skin Disorders
13.Baldness
14.Immunity-Boosting
Shreds of evidence are not sufficient to rank the efficacy of RJ for the above uses.
Safety Concerns.
Royal Jelly and its combinations may cause allergic reactions such as respiratory distress in asthma patients.
Usually, RJ is skin-friendly but when applied to the scalp it often produces allergic reactions such as inflammations and rashes.
It often causes swelling of the throat and death if a person is allergic to it.
Royal Jelly lowers blood pressure. Patients with low B.P. and those who take B.P. medicines for hypertension should not take RJ.
People with skin irritation and swelling should better avoid the use of RJ.
RJ may produce stomach pain and diarrhea.
Contraindications
1.Warfarin-An anticoagulant similar to clopidogrel
2.B.P.medicines-like atenolol,metoprolol,enalapril,amlodipine,nifedipine,
3.Co-enzyme Q-10-Food supplement
4.Fish oil - Food supplement
5.Casein protein-Food supplement
L-Arginine -Aminoacid,-Food supplement
Lycium -Food supplement
Stinging nettle -Food supplement
Theanine -Amino acid
Proved Benefits of Royal Jelly:
1. If you are otherwise a healthy person not using any B.P control medicines RJ is perfect for you to maintain your blood pressure
2. Royal Jelly is good for heart functions through its hypotensive effect.
3. Royal Jelly antioxidants and hence reduce the risks of cancers.
4. Royal Jelly has anti-inflammatory effects.
5. Royal Jelly is a protein food supplement which is good for blood pressure.
6. Regulate blood sugar levels.
7. Royal Jelly is believed to have anti-bacterial effects.
8. Royal Jelly may provide relief from menopausal symptoms. (150mg/day for 3 months may improve cholesterol levels in menopausal women)
9. Some study results have shown that RJ is reducing blood glucose levels.
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