Propolis & Humans

Less known than honey, propolis has been discovered and used since ancient times. Aristotle considered it as a remedy for skin diseases, wounds and suppuration. Aristotle had already considered Propolis as a remedy for skin affections, wounds and festering.

The first traces of the use of propolis probably date back to ancient Egypt, where it was used for its preservative and aromatic properties as part of the sacred rites of mummification and embalming. That’s how powerful propolis’ preservative properties are.

Propolis was also known in ancient Greece. It was during this period that the word propolis was coined, from the prefix pro meaning in front of, in front of, and polis: the city. According to observations, this material, which was still poorly understood by Greek scientists, was located at the entrance to the hive, and stood like a protective barrier in the form of baffles, preventing predators and other pests from entering the city of bees. Aristotle mentions it in his History of Animals, referring to its antiseptic and healing properties and describing it as a remedy for skin ailments, wounds and suppurations.

In Rome, propolis was sold at a higher price than honey. Every legionnaire had a piece at the time of the military campaigns. Pliny the Elder said that it removed stings, reduced swelling, eased nerve pain, cured ulcers, abscesses and boils…

At the same time, on the South American continent, the Incas seemed to be using propolis for its anti-microbial properties to combat fever-inducing illnesses.

Few medical works from the 12th century mention that propolis was part of the preparation of many medicines fighting against minor infections of the skin and the respiratory system.

In 18th-century France, it was used as a wound drug. Its popularity increased in the early 20th century, when it was used almost exclusively to heal the wounds of the wounded in the Boer War.

In France, in the 18th and 19th centuries, we have found scattered traces of its use in the treatment of wounds, particularly on the battlefields of Napoleon’s great campaigns.

It is especially during the colonial war that pitted the Boers, Dutch people of South Africa, against the British soldiers between 1880 and 1902 that the use of propolis peaked because of the beneficial results it engendered in part of the disinfection, of anesthesia and the healing of wounds of war.

During In World War II, the soviet clinics routinely used it with success.

Propolis has been used for thousands of years, although not continuously. That’s why the scientific community has been working since the 1970s to demonstrate and unveil the secrets of a substance that never ceases to amaze.

Common uses in human medicine have been passed down to the present day. Research and numerous studies have been carried out over the last thirty years, with more than satisfactory results attracting the interest of the scientific world.