The nature .and diversity of presentations at the conference on: "Bee Products: Prop erties, Applications and Apitherapy" held at Tel-Aviv on May 26--30, 1996, emphasize the increasing interest of physicians, practitioners, scientists, herbalists, dieticians, cosmeti cians, microbiologists, and beekeepers in different facets of bee products. This volume consists of a selection of 31 contributions presented at the conference and which provide information on the present status of our knowledge in this area. In spite of their diversity, they reflect the mainstream of the conference, namely: "Imported" Prod ucts (honey, pollen and propolis), Exocrine Secretions of Workers (venom, royal jelly). Toxicity and Contaminants, Quality Control, Marketing, Apitherapy, Cosmetics, etc. Since antiquity, honey as well as other bee products were used as food, as a cure for ailments of humans and animals, and as cosmetics. We hope that this volume will contribute to interdisciplinary studies on chemical composition, pharmacological effects, nutrition, and other aspects of bee products. Critical and unbiased experimental research may unravel the yet unknown composition and mode of action of bee products and elucidate many unanswered questions. The noteworthy features of this conference were the participants from all parts of the world and of different cultural backgrounds, who shared their keen interest and curios ity regarding honey bees and their products. We thank all of them for their personal con tribution to the success of this conference.

This book presents an updated discussion of the chemical composition and biological properties of the main bee products. Specific attention is focused on the beneficial biological activities of bee products in human health. Honey, royal jelly, propolis, bee pollen and bee venom are used as nutriment and in traditional medicine. Their composition is rather variable and depends on the floral source and external factors, such as seasonal, environmental conditions and processing. Bee products are rich in several essential nutrients and non essential nutrients, as sugars, minerals, proteins, free amino acids, vitamins, enzymes and polyphenols, that seem to be closely related to their biological functions. The effects of these products in nutrition, aging and age-related diseases, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and pathogen infections are discussed.

Here is the latest buzz on some of Mother Nature's most perfect remedies! Bee products are nutritional and medicinal powerhouses having antiseptic, antimicrobial, and immune-boosting properties. They are used as effective, natural remedies for hundreds of conditions, from arteriosclerosis to hair loss. You'll learn all about these amazing gifts from the apiary in this fully revised guide to purchasing, storing, and using bee pollen, propolis, honey, and royal jelly. In addition to providing the latest medical research on the health benefits of bee products, this updated edition provides a wealth of suggestions and recipes for using bee products for health and healing. The excellent tips on using bee products to prevent common infections are essential for every household, especially now that many bacteria are showing increased resistance to antibiotics.

Takes you through the hive and explains what each beehive product is and how it is produced, its usefulness, and how it can be bought, prepared, stores, and used.

• Author Dave Hunter is at the leading edge of bee and pollinator issues • Mason bees are part of the solution to honeybees’ decline • No other bee book addresses the topic with such depth and interest • Includes useful information about leafcutter bees too! The national media regularly features dire stories on honeybee colony collapse and its danger to our food supply. But there's another, unsung bee that has the potential to save the planet—the mason bee. Mason Bee Revolution explains how docile, hard-working, solitary mason bees (and their compatriots, the leafcutter bees) are even more productive pollinators than honeybees, and keeping them can be a fun, easy, backyard hobby for gardeners, conservationists, foodies, and families everywhere. Why these bees? Bee pollination is critical for about 80 percent of US agricultural crops, increasing crop value by an estimated $15 billion annually. Since 2006, nearly a third of all honeybee hives have been lost each year, due to parasites, pesticides, habitat loss, climate change, and a newer malady called Colony Collapse Disorder. While scientists search for answers to save the honeybee, Dave Hunter and his company, Crown Bees, are leading the effort to increase the population of other highly efficient pollinators: One mason bee can produce twelve pounds of cherries, via pollination, where it would take sixty honey bees to achieve the same. Mason Bee Revolution is an easy-to-follow guide to keeping both mason and leafcutter bees. It tells you how to set up, care for, and harvest your own bees and what types of plants and habitat encourage mason and leafcutter bees, as well as provides general information on other common pollinators and bee-related facts, projects, and personalities.

Honey bees—and the qualities associated with them—have quietly influenced American values for four centuries. During every major period in the country's history, bees and beekeepers have represented order and stability in a country without a national religion, political party, or language. Bees in America is an enlightening cultural history of bees and beekeeping in the United States. Tammy Horn, herself a beekeeper, offers a varied social and technological history from the colonial period, when the British first introduced bees to the New World, to the present, when bees are being used by the American military to detect bombs. Early European colonists introduced bees to the New World as part of an agrarian philosophy borrowed from the Greeks and Romans. Their legacy was intended to provide sustenance and a livelihood for immigrants in search of new opportunities, and the honey bee became a sign of colonization, alerting Native Americans to settlers' westward advance. Colonists imagined their own endeavors in terms of bees' hallmark traits of industry and thrift and the image of the busy and growing hive soon shaped American ideals about work, family, community, and leisure. The image of the hive continued to be popular in the eighteenth century, symbolizing a society working together for the common good and reflecting Enlightenment principles of order and balance. Less than a half-century later, Mormons settling Utah (where the bee is the state symbol) adopted the hive as a metaphor for their protected and close-knit culture that revolved around industry, harmony, frugality, and cooperation. In the Great Depression, beehives provided food and bartering goods for many farm families, and during World War II, the War Food Administration urged beekeepers to conserve every ounce of beeswax their bees provided, as more than a million pounds a year were being used in the manufacture of war products ranging from waterproofing products to tape. The bee remains a bellwether in modern America. Like so many other insects and animals, the bee population was decimated by the growing use of chemical pesticides in the 1970s. Nevertheless, beekeeping has experienced a revival as natural products containing honey and beeswax have increased the visibility and desirability of the honey bee. Still a powerful representation of success, the industrious honey bee continues to serve both as a source of income and a metaphor for globalization as America emerges as a leader in the Information Age.

For more than sixty years Charles Mraz has brought the benefits of apitherapy (bee-venom therapy) to thousands of individuals. He pioneered the use of this technique to treat autoimmune diseases, particularly arthritis and multiple sclerosis.