The Bioactive Compound Contents and Potential Protective Effects of Royal Jelly Protein Hydrolysates against DNA Oxidative Damage and LDL Oxidation

Current Status of the Bioactive Properties of Royal Jelly: A Comprehensive Review with a Focus on Its Anticancer, Anti-Inflammatory, and Antioxidant Effects

Royal jelly (RJ) has been one of the most widely used natural products in alternative medicine for centuries. Being produced by both hypopharyngeal and mandibular glands, RJ exhibits an extraordinary complexity in terms of its composition, including proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, polyphenols, vitamins, and hormones. Due to its heterogeneous structure, RJ displays various functional roles for honeybees, including being involved in nutrition, learning, memory, and social behavior. Furthermore, a wide range of studies reported its therapeutic properties, including anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant activities, to name a few. In this direction, there is a wide range of health-related problems for which the medical area specialists and researchers are continuously trying to find a cure, such as cancer, atherosclerosis, or infertility. For the mentioned diseases and more, it has been proven that RJ is a key player in finding a valuable treatment. In this review, the great impact of RJ as an alternative medicine agent is highlighted, with a focus on its anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant activities. Moreover, we link it to its apitherapeutic potential by discussing its composition. Herein, we discuss a wide range of novel studies and present the latest research work.

Royal Jelly as a Nutraceutical Natural Product with a Focus on Its Antibacterial Activity

Royal jelly (RJ) is one of the most valued natural products and is known for its health-promoting properties. Due to its therapeutic effects, it has been used in medicine since antiquity. Nowadays, several studies indicate that RJ acts as a powerful antimicrobial agent. Indeed, researchers shed light on its antioxidant and anticancer activity. RJ’s biological properties are related to its bioactive compounds, such as proteins, peptides, phenolic, and fatty acids. The aim of this review is to highlight recent findings on RJ’s main bioactive compounds correlated with its health-promoting properties. The available literature suggests that these bioactive compounds can be used as an alternative approach in order to enhance human health. Moreover, throughout this paper, we underline the prominent antibacterial effect of RJ against several target bacterial strains. In addition, we briefly discuss other therapeutic activities, such as antioxidative and anticancer effects, of this outstanding natural product.