Antimicrobial Activity of Bee Queen Larvae and Royal Jelly

Abstract

Royal jelly has unique healing properties due to the presence of a number of biologically active compounds and yet unidentified components that are used for the prevention and treatment of many diseases. Purpose. To investigate the antimicrobial activity of homogenate of bee queen larvae and royal jelly against four phytopathogenic bacteria. Methods. Method of diffusion of biologically active compounds into agar medium sown with test cultures of phytopathogenic bacteria. Homogenates of bee queen larvae and royal jelly were diluted with sterile distilled water 1:5, centrifuged at 10,000 rpm to precipitate insoluble components, and 100 μL were added to the holes of the medium in Petri dishes seeded with phytopathogenic bacteria. After incubation of the dishes at 28ºC, the bactericidal effect of royal jelly was detected in the form of non-growth zones of phytobathogenic bacteria. Results. Royal jelly inhibited the growth of Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis 102, Pectobacterium carotovorum 8982, Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris 8003b, and Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae 8511 around the holes in the medium. The largest zone of no bacterial growth (45.0 mm) was observed around the wells with royal jelly on the lawn of P. carotovorum 8982, which indicates the high sensitivity of these bacteria to an unidentified compound in royal jelly. Homogenate of bee queen larvae delayed the growth of only X. campestris pv. campestris 8003b. Thin layer chromatography revealed one similar and three different compounds in bee queen larvae and royal jelly. Conclusions. For the first time, the antibacterial activity of royal jelly against four phytopathogenic bacteria С. michiganensis subsp. michiganensis 102, P. carotovorum 8982, X. campestris pv. campestris 8003b, and P. syringae pv. syringae 8511 was established, which expands the spectrum of its antagonistic activity and can be used in the future for practical purposes.