Figure 2.

Components of propolis and royal jelly along with their pharmacological activities. Propolis and royal jelly are rich in numerous bioactive elements. Therefore, they express a range of beneficial activities. The key action through which these bee products promote health span stems mainly from their phenolic and flavonoid fractions, which contribute to their strong antioxidant activities. Scavenging free radicals (which activate destructive molecules such matrix metalloproteinases) and enhancing the expression of antioxidant genes promote the suppression of inflammatory responses, thus protecting against cancer, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, neurodegeneration and neurotoxicity, rheumatoid arthritis, and the like.