Royal jelly and Brazilian green propolis alleviate symptoms of allergic rhinitis

Japanese researchers evaluated the mechanism through which royal jelly and Brazilian green propolis are able to serve as traditional medicine for allergy attacks. They found that natural products are able to alleviate allergic rhinitis by preventing the activation of allergy-related genes.

The study received support from Tokushima University. Its results were published in the journal Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin.

• Sneezing was induced in rats through the administration of the chemical toluene 2,4-diisocyanate. The animals were then treated with royal jelly and Brazilian green propolis.
• Rats given the traditional medicines displayed a reduced amount of sneezing. Upon closer examination, the bee-derived products were seen to greatly suppress histamine H1 receptor (H1R) messenger RNA in the mucous membrane.
• Royal jelly and Brazilian green propolis stopped the IL-9 gene from expressing itself. They likewise stopped the phosphorylation of PKCdelta in HeLa cells.
• Afterward, the natural remedies were applied to cultures of RBL-2H3 cells. They prevented the NFT-mediated expression of IL-9 genes in those cells, which was triggered by nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFAT).
• PKCdelta and NFAT are signaling pathways that trigger a flood of H1R and IL-9 in the nasal mucosa. By suppressing these pathways, royal jelly and Brazilian green propolis were able to keep H1R levels from rising, thereby decreasing the severity of the allergic rhinitis attack.

Based on their findings, the researchers concluded that royal jelly and Brazilian green propolis have potential as alternative means of therapy for allergic rhinitis.

Would you like to learn more about the health benefits of bee products like honey? Read more at AlternativeMedicine.news.

Journal Reference:

Shaha A, Mizuguchi H, Kitamura Y, Fujino H, Yabumoto M, Takeda N, Fukui H. EFFECT OF ROYAL JELLY AND BRAZILIAN GREEN PROPOLIS ON THE SIGNALING FOR HISTAMINE H1 RECEPTOR AND INTERLEUKIN-9 GENE EXPRESSIONS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PATHOGENESIS OF THE ALLERGIC RHINITIS. Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin. 2018;41(9):1440–1447. DOI: 10.1248/bpb.b18-00325