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Subject:
From:
Peter L Borst <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sat, 4 May 2013 06:41:34 -0400
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Numerous honeybee products are used in medicine, 
but the literature furnishes no information concerning the
effects of the drone milk (DM), although drone brood, 
which is similar to DM, was reported to elicit a hormone-like
strengthening effect. In certain countries, DM is traditionally
used to treat infertility and to promote vitality in both men and
women. The aim of this study was to determine the putative 
estrogen hormone–like effect of raw DM in rats and to identify
the effective compounds.

It is not widely known that, similarly to the queen, drone
honeybees have their own special food. In a similar manner
to RJ, drone milk (DM) is secreted by the hypopharyngeal
and mandibular glands of worker honeybees (Apis melliferaL.). 

DM is the main component of drone brood, which
also contains larvae and pupae of drones in the comb. DM
is separated from drone brood by extraction to eliminate
the larvae and pupae during the harvest. Drone brood is
traditionally used in China, Russia, and Transylvania
(Romania) for climacterium, sexual problems, and rehabilitation
and activation of the elderly.

This is the first report on the biological effect of DM
containing E-dec-2-enedioic acid in mammalians and the
first bioactivity-guided fractionation study of this honey bee
product. The estrogenic activity of DM justifies its use in
folk medicine and may lead to new possibilities for its use in
estrogen-deficient conditions.

Raw Drone Milk of Honeybees Elicits Uterotrophic Effect in Rats:
Evidence for Estrogenic Activity
JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL FOOD
J Med Food 16 (5) 2013, 1–6

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