Insight into the chemical composition and biological properties of Mediterranean royal jelly

Abstract

Royal jelly (RJ) is a secretion of the hypopharyngeal and mandibular glands of young Apis mellifera worker bees. It is privileged for the queen bee as exclusive nourishment for her entire life. This bee hive product was used in traditional and folk medicine for human health care. Recently, there have been several research studies on RJ highlighting their therapeutic properties. It was found that it exhibits a large spectrum of biological and pharmacological potential including antibacterial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory and antitumor activities among others, which might be of high importance in modern medicine for the development of new drugs. Even if RJ is known since ancient times; research papers concerning its investigation are not this much developed as compared to the other bee hive, products such as honey or propolis. In this review, we summarize our understanding of data found in literature about the chemical composition and biological properties of RJ, in particular, that which originates from Mediterranean countries to stimulate future studies. More attention should be given to this natural product for better comprehension of its mechanism of action in vitro and in vivo, for possible standardization and achievement of new formulations.