Bee propolis has been touted as a natural antimicrobial agent with the potential to replace antibiotics. Numerous reports and reviews have highlighted the functionalities and applications of the natural compound. Despite much clamor for the downstream application of propolis, there remain many grounds to cover, especially in the upstream production, and factors affecting the quality of the propolis. Moreover, geopropolis and cerumen, akin to propolis, hold promise for diverse human applications, yet their benefits and intricate manufacturing processes remain subjects of intensive research. Specialized cement bees are pivotal in gathering and transporting plant resins from suitable sources to their nests. Contrary to common belief, these resins are directly applied within the hive, smoothed out by cement bees, and blended with beeswax and trace components to create raw propolis. Beekeepers subsequently harvest and perform the extraction of the raw propolis to form the final propolis extract that is sold on the market. As a result of the production process, intrinsic and extrinsic factors, such as botanical origins, bee species, and the extraction process, have a direct impact on the quality of the final propolis extract. Towards the end of this paper, a section is dedicated to highlighting the antimicrobial potency of propolis extract.

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) is known to cause cold sores and various diseases in humans. Importantly, HSV infection can develop latent and recurrent infections, and it is also known to cause inflammation. These infections are difficult to control, and effective treatment of the disease remains a challenge. Thus, the search for new antiviral and anti-inflammatory agents is a necessity. Melittin is a major peptide that is present in the venom of the honeybee. It possesses a number of pharmacological properties. In this study, the effects of the melittin peptides from A. mellifera (MEL-AM) and A. florea (MEL-AF) against HSV-1 and HSV-2 were evaluated at different stages during the viral multiplication cycle in an attempt to define the mode of antiviral action using plaque reduction and virucidal assays. The results revealed a new finding that melittin at 5 µg/mL demonstrated the highest inhibitory effect on HSV through the direct inactivation of viral particles, and MEL-AF displayed a greater virucidal activity. Moreover, melittin was also observed to interfere with the process of HSV attachment to the host cells. MEL-AM exhibited anti-HSV-1 and anti-HSV-2 effects with EC₅₀ values of 4.90 ± 0.15 and 4.39 ± 0.20 µg/mL, while MEL-AF demonstrated EC₅₀ values of 4.47 ± 0.21 and 3.95 ± 0.61 µg/mL against HSV-1 and HSV-2, respectively. However, non-cytotoxic concentrations of both types of melittin produced only slight degrees of HSV-1 and HSV-2 inhibition after viral attachment, but melittin at 5 µg/mL was able to reduce the plaque size of HSV-2 when compared to the untreated group. In addition, MEL-AM and MEL-AF also exhibited anti-inflammatory activity via the inhibition of nitric oxide production in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophage cells, and they were also found to down-regulate the expressions of the iNOS, COX-2 and IL-6 genes. The highest inhibition of IL-6 mRNA expression was found after treatment with 10 µg/mL of MEL-AM and MEL-AF. Therefore, melittin peptides have displayed strong potential to be used as an alternative treatment for HSV infection and inflammatory diseases in the future.

This study assessed the growth performance of red palm weevil (RPW) (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus: Curculionidae) larvae on a liquid diet of yeast-enriched potato dextrose broth (control) and on diets with added polystyrene and polyurethane. For 15 days of diet exposure, the growth and survival, plastic degradation, and gut microbiota of larvae were examined. RPWs showed higher survival rates under polystyrene and polyurethane treatments than in the control group. Head diameter showed a higher trend under polyurethane treatment than under the other treatments. Treated plastics were partly degraded after a 15-day exposure. Further analysis of plastic residues from frass revealed significant differences in Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), with decreased intensity of characteristic peaks compared to frass from larvae fed in the control. Gut bacterial communities in the gut of RPW larvae showed that plastic feeding did not significantly alter the presence of key microbial taxa, but members of Firmicutes and Proteobacteria were higher in the plastic treatment, showing preliminary signs of plastic oxidation and degradation. Overall, these findings provide evidence that ingestion of PS and PU by RPW larvae supports their survival and alters their gut microbiota, possibly due to plastic degradation, paving the way for further research into the interactions between RPWs, their microbiome, and key functional activities, with implications for plastic waste management and recycling.

Honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) are considered highly significant economic insects. It is a source of valuable food and medicinal products such as honey, bee pollen, royal jelly, bee brood, and beeswax, which possess excellent nutritional and pharmacological properties. Nevertheless, honey bee health and productivity were often challenged by various environmental factors. Therefore, bee colony management is of the utmost importance. In this light, bee supplements and gut microbiota are crucial to ensure that bees receive sufficient nutritional value to maintain their health and productivity. In this study, we isolate and characterize lactic acid bacteria from the hindgut of the worker bee. 16S rRNA sequencing revealed that three isolated bacteria were Apilactobacillus kunkeei (AK), Lactiplantibacillus sp. (LP), and Lactobacillus brevis (LB). Three species of lactic acid bacteria were investigated for potential probiotic properties by supplementing 50% (w/w) sucrose syrup in the form of a direct-fed microorganism (DFM). The supplement with DFM had no negative effect on average lifespan. Examination took place of the impact of probiotics on the development of the hypopharyngeal glands (HPGs) in the bee’s head at days 3, 6, and 9 post-treatments. The cage-bees fed by pollen and DFM syrup exhibited acini surface areas ranging from 0.020 to 0.023 mm². The L. brevis (LB) group exhibited enhanced HPG development, with an average acini size of 0.027 ± 0.007 mm² at day 6, while the non-treatment control had an average acini size of 0.023 ± 0.006 mm². The significant size differences were maintained throughout the 9-day period. In addition, the DFM syrup enhanced microbial protein content in the bee head, digestibility, and community complexity compared with the negative control groups. Therefore, the DFM syrup with a potential strain of probiotic may enhance overall honey bee health status.

Methanolic bee pollen extracts from Xyris spp. and Mimosa spp. were evaluated for proximate composition, extraction yield, total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), antioxidant activity, erythrocyte oxidative hemolysis protection, HRBC membrane stabilization, and LC-QToF-MS-based phytochemical annotation. Mimosa spp. pollen showed higher crude protein content than Xyris spp. pollen (29.54% vs. 18.38%, dry basis), whereas Xyris spp. pollen showed higher crude fat and nitrogen-free extract. The methanolic extraction yield was higher for Xyris spp. than Mimosa spp. (44.26% vs. 34.63%). Mimosa spp. extract exhibited higher TPC (17.07 ± 0.19 mg GAE/g dry pollen) and TFC (8.89 ± 0.59 mg QE/g dry pollen) than Xyris spp. extract, which contained 10.39 ± 0.27 mg GAE/g dry pollen and 6.94 ± 0.22 mg QE/g dry pollen, respectively. Mimosa spp. also showed lower DPPH and ABTS IC₅₀ values and higher FRAP activity. LC-QToF-MS results were reported as putatively annotated compounds based on accurate mass and database matching. These findings suggest that botanical origin influences the chemical composition and in vitro bioactivity of bee pollen; however, further targeted compound confirmation, toxicity assessment, and in vivo studies are required.

Pollen limitation compromises honey bee health and pollination services, and existing pollen substitutes are typically formulated around crude protein content while lacking the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids naturally present in pollen and bee-collected re-sources. To address both protein and fatty acid gaps in current substitutes, this study evaluated marine-protein and insect-larvae-based diets. We assessed how formulations using Asian seabass (Lates calcarifer) and insect larvae affect the nutrition, physiology, longevity, and gut microbiota of Apis mellifera L. Newly emerged bees were fed for 35 days on: sugar syrup (negative control), sugar syrup and natural pollen (positive control), or four experimental diets: seabass-based (SB), or SB supplemented with meal-worm (SBM), or wax moth (SBW), or black soldier fly (SBB). Experimental diets (12.48–15.59% crude protein, vs. 17.24% in natural pollen) while SB supplied eicosapentaenoic acid (39.3–53.3 mg/100 g) and docosahexaenoic acid (37.2–52.3 mg/100 g), and SBB was additionally rich in lauric acid (604.3 mg/100 g). SBB- and SBM-fed bees exhibited the greatest hypopharyngeal gland development (0.123 mm and 0.115 mm, respectively, vs. 0.060 mm in sugar-only controls), with no significant difference from SB alone. All SB-based diets supported significantly greater survival than the sugar-only control (log-rank p < 0.0001) and did not differ significantly from the natural pollen treatment with SBB showing the highest and most consistent day-35 survival (81.1%). All sea-bass-based diets significantly altered the gut microbial community structure, promoting short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-associated bacteria such as Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Blautia wexlerae. This enrichment may reflect not only the omega-3 and lauric acid content of the diets but also the presence of substrates that can be utilized by gut microbes, which may exert prebiotic-like effects by favoring SCFA-producing bacteria. These results demonstrate that marine and insect-derived nutrients can supply protein while also providing beneficial lipids and microbially utilizable substrates that promote the enrichment of beneficial SCFA-associated bacteria not typically dominant in the honey bee gut. These enriched diets, particularly SBB, are promising candidates war-ranting further evaluation at the colony and field levels.