Royal jelly is a yellowish-white acidic secretion from the hypopharyngeal and mandibular glands of worker honey bees.¹ It is used as a food for young bee larvae, but no longer than three days, and then they are fed with a mixture of pollen, nectar, and honey.¹ Royal jelly is also the only food for the queen in both the larval and adult stages.¹ It is well known for its high nutritional value. It is high in carbohydrates, protein, free amino acids, fatty acids, sugars, vitamins, and minerals.¹
Royal jelly has a wide range of functional properties including antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, wound healing, anti-ageing, immunomodulatory, anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, anti-hyperlipidemic, anti-hypertension, hepato-renal protective, neuroprotective, estrogenic, and fertility effects.¹⁻²
Royal jelly contains various antimicrobial peptides including gelins, royalisin, royalactin, and apisimin. It is effective against gram-positive bacteria S.aureus, S. epidermidis, and E. faecalis, which can cause serious infection in human body.³ Besides that, another study conducted by Altuntas and colleagues showed that Royal jelly inhibits the formation of bio-films in body.⁴ In food, biofilms contain L. monocytogenes.⁴ Royal jelly was proven to have inhibition effect on L. monocytogenes and its antibacterial activity is enhanced by the combination of royal jelly and honey.⁵
Royal jelly acts as a scavenger of free radicals. A study conducted by Liu et al. showed that royal jelly possesses antioxidant properties by acting upon DPPH, hydroxyl, and superoxide radicals.⁶ A similar study was conducted by Guo et al. and they found strong antioxidant properties of peptides obtained after the hydrolysis of royal jelly proteins using protease N.⁷
Oxidative stress is a common culprit for the pathogenesis of type-II diabetes mellitus. Thus, royal jelly can be beneficial for diabetic patients due to its antioxidant properties. Research suggests royal jelly decreases fasting blood glucose (FBG) and serum glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels.⁸ There was an increase in insulin concentration in the royal jelly-supplemented group in comparison with the placebo one.⁸ Besides that, another study conducted by Shidfar et al. indicated that royal jelly ameliorates insulin resistance via antioxidant effects.⁹ Hence, royal jelly might be beneficial for patients with diabetes mellitus. However, further studies are required to investigate on the exact mechanism of royal jelly on diabetic parameters.
Royal jelly mimics human estrogen, similar to that of plant phytoestrogens.¹⁰ Regular consumption of high-quality royal jelly has been shown to help balance hormones.¹⁰ This could be beneficial for those having fertility issues related to hormonal imbalance. Besides that, royal jelly could be beneficial in increasing libido and supporting egg and sperm health.¹⁰
Premature skin ageing such as wrinkling, pigmentation and loss of elasticity might occur due to chronic exposure of skin to UV irradiation. This is resulted from the decreased procollagen expression and increased expression of MMPs, the collagenase which degrades collagen and thus impair structural integrity of dermis. Royal jelly was found to increase type-I procollagen and TGFβ1 production but no effect on MMP secretion. This finding suggested that royal jelly might help in skin protection by promoting collagen synthesis via TGFβ1 upregulation following UV exposure.¹¹
Royal jelly is commonly used as a traditional and natural product to improve menopause-related symptoms due to its similarity with oestrogen. Its oestrogenic effect is mediated through the interaction with oestrogen receptors.¹² 10-HDA in royal jelly helps in preventing ageing-related follicular depletion and supporting in regulation of hormone.¹³ Sharif et al. conducted a study using a cohort of 200 women aged between 45 and 60 years old.¹⁴ The result demonstrated that royal jelly could alleviate menopausal symptoms including hot flushes and night sweats. After 8 weeks of oral intake of royal jelly, menopausal score was significantly lower in those women treated with royal jelly as compared to the placebo group. This result is supported by another study conducted by Asama and colleagues. Anxiety score and backache score were significantly lower in postmenopausal women treated with royal jelly as compared to the placebo group.¹⁵
Generally, royal jelly is often used in doses of 1000mg orally for up to 6 months. A rest period of 15 to 30 days is necessary before continuing taking royal jelly as the antibacterial property of royal jelly can disrupt the normal flora environment in our digestive system. Recommended dose for children more than 5 years old is up to 500mg while for infant, the dose is determined by body weight (10mg per kg).¹⁸
Generally, royal jelly is often used in doses of 1000mg orally for up to 6 months. A rest period of 15 to 30 days is necessary before continuing taking royal jelly as the antibacterial property of royal jelly can disrupt the normal flora environment in our digestive system. Recommended dose for children more than 5 years old is up to 500mg while for infant, the dose is determined by body weight (10mg per kg).¹⁸
The material is prepared for informational purposes only and should not be construed as a piece of personal medical advice. Owing to each person’s varying health needs, a physician should be consulted before acting on any information provided in this material. Although every effort is made to ensure that this material is accurate, it is compiled for internal use only and should not be considered definitive. Neither VitaHealth nor its employees, or information providers shall be responsible or liable for any errors, inaccuracies, or other defects in the information contained in this publication.
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Royal jelly is a yellowish-white acidic secretion from the hypopharyngeal and mandibular glands of worker honey bees.¹ It is used as a food for young
