QUOTE MATERIAL for review purposes only Propolis has attracted researchers’ interest in the last decades because of several biological and pharmacological properties, such as immunomodulatory, antitumor, antimicrobial, antiinflammatory, antioxidant, among others (Bankova et al., 2000). Propolis is safe and shows no side effect after administration. Propolis shows antimicrobial activities, and its effects may occur through a direct action on microorganisms and indirectly as well via stimulation of the immune system and further microorganism killing. Propolis may also show synergistic effects with antimicrobial drugs. These data are promising but lack investigation The knowledge of propolis mechanisms of action on the immune system has advanced in the last years. In vitro and in vivo assays demonstrated that propolis may activate macrophages, increasing their microbicidal activity. Propolis shows antitumor properties and its anticarcinogenic and antimutagenic potential is promising, but the mechanisms involved in the chemoprevention by propolis are still obscure. Since humans have been using propolis for a long time, scientific-based information bring an important contribution, evidencing the necessity of basic researches in this field and opening perspectives for new works. END QUOTE Propolis and the immune system: a review, by J.M. Sforcin ∗ Journal of Ethnopharmacology 113 (2007) *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at: http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm