Propolis is a product of the bees

“Among alternatives to modern drugs, there has long been a traditional use of natural health products.”

However, such products normally cannot be registered as medicines. The considerable investment needed to qualify them as such often would not be compensated. This is due to the difficult of obtaining a patent for and people could easily purchase or collect them.

Curiously, one of the strategies for developing modern drugs is to carefully dissect the components of natural products, determine which ones have desirable activity, patent and synthesize them and then go through the expensive process of getting them approved, though with some possibility that such products could give a return on the investment because of the patents. A case in point is Brazilian green propolis, for which there is considerable evidence of anticancer properties [228,229]. This propolis is not patented, but some if its components were isolated, and synthesized, and are now patented drugs for cancer treatment [230]. Brazil continues to produce and export large quantities of green propolis, especially to Asian countries, but various patented components are the property of companies in other countries.

Propolis has been suggested as a prophylactic treatment for high-risk groups in the current COVID-19 pandemic

In some parts of the world, the equivalent of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), officially classifies certain natural products as “Functional Foods” or some other similar category. As such, they can be produced and marketed and used by people who believe they will be good for their health. To be classified as functional foods, these agencies require proof that they are safe and that they have proven health benefits [71,231]. This option provides alternatives that are normally inexpensive and do not require prescriptions. Specifically, propolis has been suggested as a prophylactic treatment for high-risk groups in the current COVID-19 pandemic [232].” (37)

“While modern medicines normally have only one or just a few active components, natural products can have many. Propolis, for example, has hundreds of components [226], many of which have properties that have the potential to help treat various types of disease or have various modes of action against a specific disease and its consequences [[233], [234], [235]]. Another consideration is that a strong specific effect, such as that of an anticoagulant used in an effort to prevent the microthromboses that have become a serious consequence of advanced COVID19 [236], requires specific dosing to avoid excess bleeding and other dangerous side effects [237], and such drugs are not a safe option for patients that have some types of blood disease or various heart and vessel disorders. A natural anticoagulant could give some protection and at a level sufficient to reduce the risk of thrombosis without strong side effects. Propolis has demonstrated anticoagulant properties [147].” (37)

Taken from “The End of Aging” by Dr. Daniela Farkas