The secret in royal jelly quickly heals wounds

For thousands of years, honey has been appreciated for its antiseptic ability. And now, researchers have discovered that its little-known cousin - royal jelly, has special molecules that help speed up the healing process.

The honey bees are really hardworking superheroes of the insect world. Not only do they help lush crops because of pollination for many crops, but they also create countless beneficial substances, such as honey and beeswax, and now 'medicine'.

Royal jelly is the food that worker bees create to feed all larvae, especially queen bees. While queen bees are growing, they are like 'swimming' in a reservoir filled with royal jelly. People have found a way to stimulate the production of queen bee larvae to be able to harvest royal jelly.

White milk with adhesive is one of the bee-derived products that you can find in many health food stores - although the truth about royal jelly is a food supplement has benefits are not yet confirmed.

But there is some evidence that royal jelly has both antiseptic properties and promotes wound healing. Scientists have embarked on research to find the cause for this.

Finally, a team of researchers from the Slovak Academy of Sciences discovered that the molecule in royal jelly has the ability to help skin cells reorganize themselves and heal wounds.

Royal jelly helps to heal wounds.(Photo: Wikimedia).

When skin is damaged, two main types of cells need to be active to promote wound healing. These are fibroblasts and keratinocytes - which can create molecules that accelerate the growth of new cells that the skin uses to restore damage.

The molecules found in this royal jelly are a peptide called defensin-1 . It is in the group of small antibacterial proteins found in plants and animals, including humans.

Peptide defensin-1 specifically increases the production of enzymes called MMP-9 - which plays an important role in rebuilding cellular 'matrix' in the skin.

In previous studies, the team investigated another type of protein that they thought had a faster healing effect, but it did not promote the production of useful enzymes in human keratinocyt.

The researchers said in the report: "A potential candidate likely to be involved in wound healing is MRJP1, which is a protein that has a strong concentration in royal jelly and honey."

In contrast, when researchers conducted experiments on defensin-1, they found it significantly increased the production of MMP-9. The team wrote: " Similar to MRJP1, defensin-1 is common but in royal jelly and honey, their number is variable."

After separating this peptide and experimenting, the researchers observed its performance on actual wounds. They anesthetize and injure 20 mice, each injured 4 places in the back.

The first wound is treated with a jelly ointment, the second is with a defensin-1 ointment. A drug used only with neutral gel is used for a third wound, while the last wound is not treated.

After 15 days, there are significant differences in the rate of recovery of wounds. Both royal jelly and defensin-1 ointment helped the wound to close, while the third wound remained partially open.

The researchers concluded: "Starting treatment at the same time, up to now, histological analysis shows that royal jelly as well as defensin-1 promotes the regeneration of epithelium on the wound surface and formation. scar wall in the dermis'.

But the amount of defensin-1 in royal jelly and honey is very different, so it doesn't mean you can use these to reduce cuts and scratches. In particular, this substance can also cause allergies.

However, this is still a useful finding paving the way for the creation of an effective wound treatment drug for humans in the near future.