Periodontal diseases are caused mainly by inflammation of the gums and bones surrounding the teeth or by dysbiosis of the oral microbiome, and the Global Burden of Disease study (2019) reported that periodontal disease affects 20–50% of the global population. In recent years, more preference has been given to natural therapies compared to synthetic drugs in the treatment of periodontal disease, and several oral care products, such as toothpaste, mouthwash, and dentifrices, have been developed comprising honeybee products, such as propolis, honey, royal jelly, and purified bee venom. In this study, we systematically reviewed the literature on the treatment of periodontitis using honeybee products. A literature search was performed using various databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Scopus, clinicaltrials.gov, and Google Scholar. A total of 31 studies were reviewed using eligibility criteria published between January 2016 and December 2021. In vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies (randomized clinical trials) were included. Based on the results of these studies, honeybee products, such as propolis and purified bee venom, were concluded to be effective and safe for use in the treatment of periodontitis mainly due to their antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities. However, to obtain reliable results from randomized clinical trials assessing the effectiveness of honeybee products in periodontal treatment with long-term follow-up, a broader sample size and assessment of various clinical parameters are needed.

The global COVID-19 pandemic has hit the agriculture sector hard around the world. A study was conducted to assess the impact of the pandemic on cropping patterns, crop management, usage of chemical inputs and their organic alternatives, harvesting, and marketing avenues through a survey approach in the two states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu in India. A total of 250 farmers participated in the study, the data was analyzed by Chi-square test and Kruskal–Wallis test. The assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on some aspects was undertaken by dividing the study period into three phases. Though a smaller number of people were infected with COVID-19 in the initial phase of the pandemic compared to the later phases, farm operations and the procurement of inputs were significantly affected at this phase as there was a sudden disruption in transportation due to COVID-19-induced movement restrictions. During the entire study period, commodities such as rice, bananas, vegetables, coconuts, and flowers suffered maximum crop loss compared to pulses, groundnuts, cotton, and rubber. Among fertilizers, the maximum shortage was observed for chemical fertilizers (46%) and biofertilizers (30%) compared to cow dung (18%) and poultry manure (6%), indicating that farmers tended to use more local materials that could be easily procured and accessed compared to shop-based inputs. A rise in the cost of cultivation, scarcity of farm workforce, and difficulty in hiring farm machinery all have contributed to the loss of profit during the pandemic period. As a response to COVID-19, growers initiated post-harvest processing of commodities, and cropping systems remained the same during the period. The paper also discusses some remedial measures to be adopted by households in the future, to minimize the impacts of such pandemics in the agrarian sector.