Bioactive properties of apitherapy bee products (honey, pollen, propolis and royal jelly) and their roles in prevention liver damage

In this study, chestnut honey, pollen, propolis from the dominant flora of the Black Sea Region with royal jelly were investigated for their antioxidant properties and the roles in prevention of liver damage. For determination of antioxidant capacity, total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, total anthocyanin, CUPRAC, FRAP and DPPH radical scavenging capacity tests were selected. CCl4 was used to cause liver damage in rats. In this study, 49 female Sprague Dawley rats were used. Different concentrations of bee products were given orally for 7 days with CCl4 to rats and their role in preventing liver injury were examined. The extend of liver damage formation were followed by measuring the activities of serum alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST) enzymes. In addition, besides histopathological examinations, malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) enzyme activity were also made. Antioxidant activities of the bee products used in our studies were shown to vary with their phenolic compound contents and could be ordered largest to smallest propolis, pollen, royal jelly, honey. When these four bee products were analyzed for their roles in prevention of liver damage, despiteto their different levels of antioxidant activities, almost similar protective roles in preventing the damage formed by CCl4 were found. As a result, honey, pollen, propolis and royal jelly were found to protect the liver against toxic agents.