Skin tissue regeneration is one of the population’s most common problems, and the complications that may appear in the healing process can have detrimental consequences. An alternative to conventional treatments could be represented by sustainable materials based on natural products, such as honey and its derivates (propolis, royal jelly, bee pollen, beeswax, and bee venom). They exhibit significant inhibitory activities against bacteria and have great potential in dermal tissue regeneration. Research in the pharmaceutical field demonstrates that conventional medication combined with bee products can deliver better results. The advantages include minimizing side effects and maintaining the same effectiveness by using low concentrations of antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, or chemotherapy drugs. Several studies suggested that bee products can replace the antimicrobial activity and efficiency of antibiotics, but further investigation is needed to establish a topical mixture’s potential, including honey, royal jelly, and propolis. Bee products seem to complete each other’s deficiencies, and their mixture may have a better impact on the wound healing process. The topic addressed in this paper highlights the usefulness of honey, propolis, royal jelly, bee pollen, beeswax, and bee venom in the re-epithelization process and against most common bacterial infections.

Honey, propolis or royal jelly are considered natural remedies with therapeutic properties since antiquity. Many papers explore the development of antimicrobial biomaterials based on individual bee products, but there is a lack of studies on their synergistic effects. Combining honey, propolis and royal jelly with silver nanoparticles in a biopolymer matrix offers a synergistic strategy to combat antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. This approach supports progress in wound healing, soft tissue engineering and other domains where elimination of the microorganisms is needed like food packaging. In this study we have obtained antimicrobial films based on bee products and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) incorporated in an alginate–chitosan blend. The novel biomaterials were analyzed by UV-Vis, fluorescence and FTIR spectroscopy or microscopy, SEM and thermal analysis. Antibacterial tests were conducted against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, while the antifungal properties were tested against Candida albicans. The diameters for growth inhibition zones were up to 10 mm for bacterial strains and 8 mm for the fungal strain. Additionally, cytotoxicity assays were performed to evaluate the biocompatibility of the materials, the results indicating that the combination of honey, propolis, royal jelly and AgNPs does not produce synergistic toxicity.

The increasing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has stimulated the search for alternative antimicrobial agents with greater efficacy, low toxicity, and minimal resistance potential. Natural products, such as honey, propolis, and royal jelly, have shown promise due to their biological properties. The integration of natural products like honey and propolis in biomaterials represents a synergistic approach to combat the growing threat of resistant bacterial infections while improving wound care and soft tissue engineering applications. In the present work, we obtained sodium alginate films based on honey, propolis, royal jelly, and their mixture coated with chitosan for soft tissue regeneration. SEM showed that adding bee products altered surface morphology, affecting roughness, porosity, and microstructure. Spectral analysis confirmed specific chemical bonds, while thermal studies indicated a good stability up to 115 °C. The antimicrobial activity was evaluated against Gram-positive (Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus), Gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and yeast strains (Candida albicans), with growth inhibition zone diameters up to 12 mm. In vitro cytotoxicity studies, made on human gingival fibroblasts, suggested good biocompatibility. Antimicrobial assays showed that films containing propolis tincture, alone or as a mixture, were most effective against pathogens. Future research will focus on formulation optimization for biomedical use.