Like humans, bees also harvest powerful plant chemicals. They do it by collecting tree gums and resins and placing them in their hive.

Poplar, Willow and Birch, produce natural sap and resins with high levels of flavonoids to defend buds and broken limbs from infection. Honeybees gather the resins and add their own special substances to make propolis, which they use to protect the hive.

The bee bites off scraps of plant resin with its mandibles and packs them into the corbiculae (pollen baskets) on its hind legs. Each corbicula can carry about 10 mg of propolis. Because of its stickiness, propolis gathering is a slow business: it can take an hour to fill both baskets Back at the hive, unloading can take another hour.

Propolis forms the bees' external immune defence system, making the beehive one of the most sterile environments known to nature. The bee will cover any cracks in the hive to protect against external threats and also uses propolis to neutralise any internal disease threat such as a foreign body in the hive. Examples of this have been found where a mouse has entered a hive to be killed by the bees. The bees unable to remove the mouse have sealed it in the hive with propolis, which has in effect mummified the mouse preventing any smell and preserving it in a sterile environment with no disease threat to the hive. These powerful antiseptic and preservative properties were known to the Egyptians who are believed to have used propolis and honey in the process of preserving their dead for the journey into the next life.

So what benefits does this amazing substance offer in our modern world of evolving bacteria and virus that seem to be continually becoming immune to modern drugs and medicines?

Propolis is a powerful antiseptic agent and is powerful in its ability to initiate the body's own immune defences, inhibiting the spread of unwanted disease. Propolis has a cleansing effect on the bloodstream, dispensing unwanted bacteria and fungal parasites and significantly reduces symptoms arising from environmental toxins and food allergens. Rich in natural bioflavonoids, Propolis also works to maximise the effects of Vitamin C.

Because of our quest for the modern super drug to cure all ills natural products have not received the same research and scientific testing as man made drugs. As we realise that these natural remedies are sometimes as powerful or more effective than manufactured solutions this position is changing. In fact in other parts of the world research into propolis and its benefits have been carried out over several decades. This means however that we are unable to make specific medical claims about the benefits of this natural product.

Research all over the world and use of this natural product over such a large number of years have shown that Propolis may be useful in the alleviation of joint and muscular pain, arthritis and rheumatism

Propolis treatment may help skin complaints such as eczema and psoriasis propolis contains powerful antibacterial properties, which are capable of destroying strains that have become resistant to conventional antibiotics.

So what is propolis made of?

Propolis is a very complex mixture and its chemical elements vary according to its source. Being a natural product collected in different areas from different sources it is difficult to accurately break down an exact formulae for every batch of propolis. A broad analysis reveals resinous compounds and balsam, and beeswax make up approximately 85% and ethereal and aromatic oils, and bee pollen making up the rest. Bioflavonols are the key contributors to propolis' properties; components include cinnamic acid, cinnamyl alcohol, vanillin, caffeic acid, tetochrysin, isalpinin, pinocembrin, chrysin, galangin, and ferulic acid. The actual make up and content will of course vary depending upon the natural product the bee is able to harvest.

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To produce the honey that we spread on our toast or breakfast cereal the bee must constantly not only source the nectar but extract it and then carry it back to the hive. This is in itself a mammoth task.

Honeybees must gather nectar from two million flowers to make one pound of honey. A honeybee visits 50 to 100 flowers during a collection trip.

One bee would therefore have to fly around 90,000 miles - three times around the globe - to make one pound of honey. The average honeybee will actually make only one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime. The miracle that is honey must make it one of the most valuable gifts that nature has to offer. The Romans valued honey so highly that they used honey instead of gold to pay their taxes.

A colony of bees consists of tens of thousands of worker bees, one queen and sometimes drones (male bees). However all the Worker bees are female. The combined efforts of all these worker bees provide a surplus of honey that we are able to harvest and share with the bees.

Honey however is not just a pleasant and sweet food. It has many other useful properties that man has put to his own use over the centuries.

Honey has always been highly regarded as a medicine. It is thought to help everything from sore throats and digestive disorders to skin problems and hay fever.

Honey has antiseptic properties and historically was often used as a dressing for wounds and a first aid treatment for burns and cuts.

The natural fruit sugars in honey - fructose and glucose - are very quickly digested by the body. This is why sportsmen and athletes use honey to give them a natural energy boost.

Honey’s ability to attract and retain moisture means that it has long been used as a beauty treatment. It was believed to be part of Cleopatra’s daily beauty ritual.

Honey also has another very important property. It does not spoil or go off, least ways not in the normal time frame that you would expect for a food. Honey has been found in 2000 year old jars in Egyptian tombs and was still edible.

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