Biological Activities and Chemical Composition of Bee Products and Derivatives—2nd Edition

Dear Colleagues,

The main product produced by honeybees—particularly Apis mellifera, but also A. cerana, A. dorsata, and stingless bees (Melipona spp., Trigona spp.)—is honey. However, other bee products can be obtained, such as bee pollen, bee bread, bee brood, propolis, beeswax, royal jelly, and bee venom. The products of stingless bees also include geopropolis, cerumen, and pollen. The chemical composition and biological properties of bee products are highly dependent on several factors, including the geographical origin, vegetation surrounding beehives, bee species, soils, and water quality.

Bee products have high economic importance, with some used as food or food ingredients, and others as medicines owing to their medical and curative properties. However, this myriad of biological properties needs to be normalized, including chemical normalization and the elimination of contaminants or their reduction to the lowest levels permitted by law. In vivo assays of some bee products, including clinical ones, must also be improved and characterized in order to guarantee their efficacy when used as medicines, in addition to ensuring their quality and safety for use as food or food ingredients. We welcome research and review articles on the following topics for publication in Antioxidants, the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Molecules, Foods, or BioChem: the chemical composition of bee products, their in vitro and in vivo biological properties, clinical trials using bee products, the use of nanotechnologies to produce new bee product formulations with increased activity, or the use of bee products as food ingredients.

Dr. Maria da Graça Costa G. Miguel
Prof. Dr. Ofélia Anjos
Topic Editors