Royal Jelly | Bee Pollen Blog

I’ve covered the benefits of propolis quite extensively here but I’m going to start to add more information about the benefits of propolis and other bee products at this Blog.
Propolis is often termed “bee glue” since it’s a sticky resinous substance made from a compound of bee saliva, bark, tree sap and other vegetation. It is used to repair damage to the beehive by sealing cracks and holes to prevent the ingress of outside contaminants. In that sense it is used to create a sterile environment within the beehive and to protect its inhabitants and the precious substances within.
Worker bees collect the vegetation using their legs and the substances are mixed with bee secretions during transportation and subsequent application to the hive walls.
Processing propolis is very different to the processes used for royal jelly and bee pollen. It is common to use an alcohol extraction procedure where the sticky black, tar-like substance is diluted in an alcohol base then extracted and dried. Propolis quite often has a strong acidic and pungent odor. We’ve had comments from people using our Total Bee Plus product saying that sometimes there’s a chemical odor and it varies from batch to batch. This is absolutely true but it’s nothing to be concerned about. It is the inherent properties and odors of propolis.
Another observation relating to propolis is that our combination bee products often have dark specs inside the capsule, visible through the tan colored capsule shell. Again, this is the propolis, it starts out quite dark and will darken, naturally, with age.