The origin of the word APITHERAPY comes from the bee's Latin name: “API” (Apis Mellifera) and " THERAPY "comes from the Greek word "therapeuein" which means a method to nurse or treat
human beings or animals against different diseases.
The products of the hive that are more used in Apitherapy are:
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers, generally the nectar is about half water, half sugars and can support the growth of yeasts and other microorganisms to remains
“fresh” for only hours or a few days, only honey bees gather the nectar and process it into honey for long term storage. Bees reduce the water content to about 17 % and add enzymes which change
the sugars and prevent spoilage. One of the enzymes automatically produces a little bit of hydrogen peroxide whenever the honey becomes diluted. The hydrogen peroxide acts as against any microbes
that may be present. The same reaction that protects the honey from spoilage are the basis of a natural excellent wound dressing for humans: the honey prevents infective bacteria from surviving
or growing in a break in skin and at the same time nourishes skin cells that are healing the wound allowing the healing process to be faster and cleaner.
Bees live only about 6 weeks in summer, so a colony of 50,000 worker bees needs to start more than 1000 new bees every day. The proteins, vitamins and fats required to produce these new bees are all supplied by pollen. Bees gather pollen that is stored in the nest in the same “honeycomb” beeswax cells that are built and used for honey storage. Each cell of pollen is preserved by being covered with a layer of honey.
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