Royal Jelly: An ancient remedy with remarkable antibacterial properties.
Royal Jelly (RJ), a honeybee hypopharyngeal gland secretion of young nurse and an exclusive nourishment for bee queen, has been used since ancient times for care and human health and it is still very important in traditional and folkloristic medicine, especially in Asia within the apitherapy. Recently, RJ and its protein and lipid components have been subjected to several investigations on their antimicrobial activity due to extensive traditional uses and for a future application in medicine. Antimicrobial activities of crude Royal Jelly, Royalisin, 10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid, Jelleines, Major Royal Jelly Proteins against different bacteria have been reported. All these beehive products showed antimicrobial activities that lead their potential employment in several fields as natural additives. RJ and its derived compounds show a highest activity especially against Gram positive bacteria. The purpose of this Review is to summarize the results of antimicrobial studies of Royal Jelly following the timescale of the researches. From the first scientific applications to the isolation of the single components in order to better understand its application in the past years and propose an employment in future studies as a natural antimicrobial agent.
Department of Veterinary Sciences, Viale delle Piagge 2, University of Pisa, Italy; Interdepartmental Research Center "Nutraceuticals and Food for Health", Via del Borghetto 80, University of Pisa, Italy. Electronic address: filippo.fratini@unipi.it.
Filippo
F
Fratini
Department of Veterinary Sciences, Viale delle Piagge 2, University of Pisa, Italy.
Giovanni
G
Cilia
Department of Veterinary Sciences, Viale delle Piagge 2, University of Pisa, Italy.
Simone
S
Mancini
Department of Veterinary Sciences, Viale delle Piagge 2, University of Pisa, Italy; Interdepartmental Research Center "Nutraceuticals and Food for Health", Via del Borghetto 80, University of Pisa, Italy.
Antonio
A
Felicioli
D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D001516:Bees / Q000502:physiology*; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D000099219:Royal Jelly
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D005227:Fatty Acids; D000099219:Royal Jelly
10-hydroxy-2-decenoic; Antimicrobial activity; Honeybees; Major Royal Jelly Proteins; Natural peptides; Royal Jelly