Chapter 17 - Future prospects of propolis, bee pollen, royal jelly, and bee venom

Abstract

Bee products have been used by humankind for their healthy attributes for many ages and applied as a traditional medicine in many countries. Nowadays, they are gaining more attention from different industry sectors, including pharmaceutical, dietary supplements, food, and cosmetics, based on technological and scientific developments due to the increasing demands of consumers for natural products. A vast amount of research demonstrated their valuable nutrients and bioactive compounds for many years and significantly contributed to the current knowledge, explaining the factors leading to variations in their contents and the significance of postharvest applications, like processing and storage; many scientific reviews illustrated the pharmaceutical value of their bioactive compounds with various biological properties. The obstacles relevant to their applications in food, dietary supplements, medicine, and cosmetics are discussed by focusing on the variation of their contents, needs for standardization of methodologies, and health claim approach at the global level. Current approaches for using propolis, pollen, royal jelly, and bee venom to develop therapeutic applications and many factors affecting their future like safe doses, toxicity, the bioavailability of nutrients, allergenicity, and health claim regulations are discussed together. Notably, the food and dietary supplement industry applications are emphasized by considering further research needs in that area. Outlook discussions are based on the trending research using computational tools for drug discovery to develop therapeutic agents from bee products, advanced analytical technology in enhancing the knowledge about their components and developing international standards, as well as the factors such as consumer demands, climate change, international trade, harmonization of standards, and safety.