Abstract
Drone brood homogenate is a little-known bee product used in folk medicine to treat various health problems. It is a very nutritious milky substance with high content of nutrients: proteins, lipids, fatty acids, carbohydrates, vitamins (A, B, E and D), and minerals. Moreover, when collected on early stage of larvae development, it is, most of all, rich source of sex hormone (testosterone, progesterone and estradiol). Some beekeepers consider drone brood as a waste product, although in some countries they use it to fight Varroa. Meanwhile, in many scientific reports a curative effect of bee drone homogenate in treating urgent global health problems have been confirmed, including ovarian dysfunction in women and male infertility, thyroid and immunity disorders, as well as malnutrition in children. A few dietary supplements based on drone brood are available online. Many patents relating to drone brood-based dietary supplements have been filed in Russia, but their prevalence in EU countries is still limited. Further research is needed to fully recognize the pharmacological activity and increase the use of drone brood.
Highlights
Honey and other bee products, i.e., pollen, bee bread, propolis, royal jelly, and wax have been valued as food stuffs all over the world since ancient times [1,2]
Some of the biological and therapeutic effects of drone brood have been confirmed by performing laboratory and animal or human in vivo experiments
A few dietary supplements can be found in on-line sale
Summary
Honey and other bee products, i.e., pollen, bee bread, propolis, royal jelly, and wax have been valued as food stuffs all over the world since ancient times [1,2]. Bee products are naturally occurring pharmaceutical products with a multidirectional effect on the living organism, including humans Their pharmacologically active fractions are used in many fields of treatment and pharmacy as pharmacopoeial raw materials, dietary supplements and cosmetics [4,5,6]. As male honeybees, are one of polymorphic forms of bees, next to the queen and worker bees Drones bite their way out of the drone cell on the 24th day after egg laying [12] and are recognisable by their large size, oval body, large eyes and strong wings. They do not have pollen sacs, a wax gland or sting.
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