User:Giggles5858/Queen bee acid

Formation of Queen Bee Acid

The formation of Royal Jelly begins with pollen. Pollen may be sourced naturally by the bee and this way of collecting pollen is deemed the best in origin of protein for their nutritive requirements. The downside to naturally collecting pollen is that the amount of protein within the pollen may vary in relation to the flowers they collect from have different pollen levels. Another source of pollen is when bees are in captivity and beekeepers provide pollen substances. The fresh sourced pollen or stored pollen stimulates the hypopharyngeal glands of a particular type of worker bee called nurse bees. These nurse bees produce royal jelly and feed it to young developing queen bee larvae, the queen bee, and worker bee larvae that are up to 72 hours of age.

Chemical composition of Royal Jelly

The chemical composition of royal jelly is 50-60% water, 18% protein, 15% carbohydrates, 3-6% lipids, 1.5% mineral salts, and vitamins.

There are about 185 organic compounds that are found within royal jelly. Bioactive compounds have been detected in royal jelly. These bioactive compounds are said to improve health and are said to contain properties that stimulate the immune system and may aid in fighting diseases.

Royal Jelly Influences Within Bee Community

Royal jelly has other contributions within the bee community other than food for new nursing bees. Royal jelly is a key factor in the differentiation of sexes of queen bees. It may dictate sex differentiation and give rise to a new queen for the colony who needs one.

References

Buttstedt, Erler, Moritz. Front zool. More than royal food - Major royal jelly protein genes in sexuals and workers of the honeybee Apis mellifera. Nov 27 2013.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24279675/

Somerville, Doug. Honey bee nutrition and supplementary feeding. NSW Agriculture. July 2000.

https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/117494/honey-bee-nutrition-supplementary-feeding.pdf

Hua Gan, Pasupuleti, Ramesh, Sammugam. Oxid Med Cell Longev. Honey, Propolis, and Royal Jelly: A Comprehensive Review of Their Biological Actions and Health Benefits. Jul 26 2017

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5549483/ The queen bee acid (10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid) or 10-HDA is a bio-active compound found in royal jelly.

Royal jelly is created in the hypopharyngeal and mandibular glands of the female worker bees' heads in order to feed the prospective queen larvae as well as feeding the queen herself.

Royal jelly acid is being investigated for its pharmacological activities. Reports indicate that it promotes neurogenesis of neural stem/progenitor cells (cells capable of differentiating into neurons, astrocytes, or oligodendrocytes) in vitro and could provide an effective method to treat and prevent neurological disorders.

In addition, royal jelly acid has been reported to have anti-tumor, anti-biotic, immunomodulatory, estrogenic, neurogenic, and innate immune response modulating activities.

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration has taken legal action against companies that have used unfounded claims of health benefits to market royal jelly products.

Products from bees are considered to be a great source of nullifying the effects of oxidative stress underlying the pathogenesis of many diseases. In diseases such as Parkinson's disease, the application of β-amyrin can aid in therapy.