There Royal jellyalso called royal jelly, is a milky product made by bees. It is used by the same to feed the queens throughout their life and for the first days of the newborn larvae. It is a food with unique characteristics, highly beneficial for the body. For example, it stimulates the appetite and is very useful in restorative treatments and in cases of malnutrition. In English it is called royal jelly, and it is very difficult to produce and extract. Limited quantities can be obtained from a single hive. For these reasons it has a rather high price. The best on the market is that freshwhich however must be preserved with particular methods.
So let’s see everything there is to know about royal jelly, the production techniques, its constituents, properties and uses.
What is royal jelly
From the bees’ point of view, royal jelly is one secretion of the hypopharyngeal and mandibular glands. It is mainly produced by worker bees, which are 5 to 15 days old, the so-called feed us.
As mentioned, this royal jelly is the only food of the queen bees, throughout their life cycle. It is also used to feed all the other bee larvae, for the first 3 days of life, but the one dedicated to feeding the queen is more valuable. It must also be said that the quantities of baby food present in the cells of the newly formed worker bees is negligible, practically unusable. In real cells, on the other hand, there are about 250-300 mg.
How it looks
Fresh royal jelly looks like a semi-fluid emulsion, with a gelatinous consistency, of a greyish white color. The taste is rather sour and bitter, a bit reminiscent of expired yogurt. It also has a very pungent odor. Its acid reaction, with pH between 3.6 and 4.2. It is thick and only partially dilutable in water.
The production of royal jelly
Queen bee larvae in royal cells
Royal jelly has always been used as a by-product of beekeeping. In fact, under normal conditions, bees raise more queen bees at the same time, filling the appropriate cells. Once upon a time, beekeepers used surplus royal cells to take it, since this does not entail particular imbalances for the hive. With the beekeeping technique, this tendency of bees can be exploited to produce royal jelly in significant quantities. The production can be done at an amateur level (with the natural swarming technique or that of orphanage) or with intensive methods. In this second case, 500 g of royal jelly can be produced from a single hive in a year.
Let’s see the simplest technique, namely that of natural swarming.
Natural swarming
Bees, in nature and reared, have a more or less accentuated tendency to the phenomenon of natural swarming: in essence, the workers replace the queen and together form a new colony that leaves the hive. To swarm, the workers must train and raise new royal cells in which royal jelly will then be found. In a cell, the maximum quantity of baby food is found about 5 days after the birth of the larva, just before it is capped. To obtain it, the beekeeper waits for the moment of natural swarming and, when the bees start the spontaneous breeding of the queens, they remove all the royal cells present. The operation is repeated every 3 days, but after a certain number of collections, the bees cease their activity. The resulting productions are minimal, good for family consumption or, at most, for small-scale sales. But it is also the least traumatic method for bees, which are already tried for several reasons, such as climate change, excessive use of pesticide in the gardens or, again, the new antagonists like the Asian hornet (or vespa velutina).
Collection of royal jelly
The task of the beekeeper is therefore to extract the gruel from the royal cells present in the hive. These, said fairings, are placed on slats and placed in an airtight container. In case of long transports, the container must be refrigerated. Once in the laboratory, you must immediately open the domes and remove the larvae with tweezers, to prevent them from eating more royal jelly. Once this is done, the royal jelly is extracted with a special scraper in the shape of a spoon or vacuum pumps. The extracted baby food must be immediately placed in a dark glass bottle. This must be hermetically sealed and stored in the fridge, in a temperature range between 1 and 5 ° C.
Preservation and sale of royal jelly
Fresh royal jelly does not keep easily, especially if pure. Even if the pure intake is the one that releases the maximum beneficial effectiveness. There are 3 most common preservation methods, namely: pure, mixed with honey and freeze-dried.
Pure
When it is pure, it can only be stored if kept at temperatures between 0 and 5 ° C. Furthermore, the containers must be made of glass and packaged in accordance with the law. In this way all its properties will be kept unaltered. Finding it pure, however, is more difficult, since respect for the cold chain is always required (storage, transport, sale, etc.).
In honey
In honey, royal jelly keeps very well. However, it is necessary to use honeys with a low moisture content and keep it in the fridge. The dosage is 3 g of gruel per 100 g of honey.
Freeze dried
Freeze-drying means dehydrating, i.e. storing in the form of powder in vials or bottles. By adding distilled water to the powder, we will have rehydrated royal jelly, the same as the starting one. This is the most common preservation method, also used for the packaging of herbal products. In herbalist’s shops it is easy to find royal jelly, also sold in the form of supplement capsules.
What does royal jelly contain
There are many elements that make up royal jelly. This balanced mix makes it a unique product in nature with exceptional properties. Here is what this product contains:
- water, the main element and which then creates all the difficulties in conservation;
- nitrogen compounds (proteins and free amino acids);
- carbohydrates (fructose, gluocose, sucrose, maltose, etc.);
- lipids (10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid and 10-hydroxydecanoic acid);
- mineral salts (potassium, sodium, magnesium, calcium, zinc, copper, iron, etc.)
- vitamins, mainly of group B;
- adenyl nucleotides (ADP and ATP);
- enzymes;
- choline and acetylcholine;
- hormonal substance;
- antibiotic and growth factors;
- undetermined substance, as much as 1% of the total.
What is royal jelly for
Royal jelly is able to exert an exceptional stimulating action throughout our body. Immediately brings feelings of well-being, physical and intellectual awakening, resistance to fatigue. A sort of elixir, which we humans “steal” from bees. In addition to these virtues, which concern perfectly healthy people, royal jelly also has specific actions on morbid states.
Benefits of royal jelly
The beneficial effects of this bee product are different. They can affect not only physical health but also neurological health and mood.
Effects on metabolism
First of all, it has beneficial effects on the metabolism, by stimulating the adrenal cortex it is able to act on the appetite. With royal jelly, the appetite increases in those who lack it, therefore useful for treating states of lack of appetite.
Benefits on the skin
Royal jelly is used on the skin for creams and ointments, able to make the tissues more elastic and soft, eliminate blackheads and treat acne.
Mood improvements
On a neurological level it acts by decreasing emotionality and improving mood. It has beneficial effects against anxiety, insomnia and depression.
Other beneficial effects
Royal jelly is particularly suitable for children, to promote their development. Promotesovarian activity in women and is indicated for those who are pregnant (but it is advisable to consult a doctor before taking it, to avoid contraindications). It is also useful for the elderly and convalescent people. Regularize the blood pressure and prevents heart problems And cancer.
Contraindications of royal jelly
Royal jelly is well tolerated by humans, but in some rare cases it can be contraindicated. It is good to avoid it, for example, in cases of low blood pressure, allergies or swelling of the skin. However, should an overdose occur, it is best to contact your doctor.
The side effects in case of allergy they can be: hives, difficult breathing, swelling of the face, lips, tongue or throat. Discontinue treatment in case of stomach pain with bloody diarrhea or bronchospasm (wheezing, chest tightness, difficulty in breathing).
How to take royal jelly
To take royal jelly, you must always refer to the labels of the products you buy. An adult can only ingest 250 mg per day if pure. The dosage drops by 50% for children. It is usually taken in cycles of 1 month and then repeated as needed.
Further details
The bees. Biology, breeding, products – Alberti Contessi
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