For centuries honey has been regarded as a wonderful gift of nature in which the properties of an excellent food, beneficial alike to adults and children, are combined with medicinal properties. Ancient Russian manuscripts attached great importance to honey as a medicine. Popular medicine has successfully used it for many diseases from time immemorial. The results of experiments and observations made by the medical science in recent decades have proved that honey is an important medicine possessing many-sided therapeutic properties.Honey is very effective in the treatment of some pathological conditions of the intestinal tract, the respiratory organs, the heart, and the nerves.The knowledge that bee venom possesses medicinal properties has come down to us from remote antiquity. Written evidence, as well as the observations of many beekeepers and our own long experience, confirm the effectiveness of been venom in the treatment of rheumatic fever, neuritis and some other diseases.Honey and bee venom treatment must be carried on under the supervision of a physician and can be made a component part in a complex of curative measures for many diseases.

Apitherapy or “Bee therapy” (from the Latin apis which means bee) is the medicinal use of products made by honeybees. Products of the Honeybee include honey, pollen, beeswax, propolis, royal jelly and bee venom. Some of the conditions treated are: multiple sclerosis, arthritis, wounds, pain, gout, shingles, burns, tendonitis and infections. Great philosophers and physicians, such as Aristotle and Hippocrates were fascinated by the industrious bees. They captured them in hives, studying their complex communities and harvesting the honey for their own consumption. One long-standing use of honey (rec ordedfrom as early as 2500 BC and still used today) is in the treatment of wounds and burns to the skin. The ancient Egyptians used honey in very many different medicines, but one particular document gives instruction for placing honey directly onto the affected part of the body and wrapping it round with cloth as a dressing. This was used for open wounds, cut, burns or ulcers and this would help the would to dry out and heal satisfactorily as the honey would form a barrier to prevent further infection. The wound would also heal with the minimum of scarring. A number of properties inherent to honey might contribute to its ability to fight infection and promote healing. Its high sugar content allows it to draw infection and fluid from wounds by a process called ‘osmosis’ Honey prevents bacterial growth through its acidic pH and through the work of an enzyme that produces small amounts of hydrogen peroxide. Its ability to keep the area around a wound moist and protected promotes fast healing and prevents scarring. Honey also contains components from the specific plants used by the bees in their production, and it is speculated that some of these components might further add to the antibacterial and wound-healing effects of honey. The process of pasteurization, used to sterilize commercial honeys, destroys the enzyme involved in the production of hydrogen peroxide, rendering these honeys less antibacterial, and deficient of any medicinal benefit.

This book presents an updated discussion of the chemical composition and biological properties of the main bee products. Specific attention is focused on the beneficial biological activities of bee products in human health. Honey, royal jelly, propolis, bee pollen and bee venom are used as nutriment and in traditional medicine. Their composition is rather variable and depends on the floral source and external factors, such as seasonal, environmental conditions and processing. Bee products are rich in several essential nutrients and non essential nutrients, as sugars, minerals, proteins, free amino acids, vitamins, enzymes and polyphenols, that seem to be closely related to their biological functions. The effects of these products in nutrition, aging and age-related diseases, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and pathogen infections are discussed.

Bee venom and bee byproducts have long been known in ancient halls of medicine as beneficial and almost miraculous in their properties - a fact that modern science seems to be finally understanding, and researching. Studies focused on this amazing venom are dominating many journals and minds, adding backing and a steady voice to what those in the natural world have always known; bee venom works, and it works for many, many conditions. Known under many names, bee venom can be used to treat numerous conditions, including; allergies, hypotension, Reynaud's disease, menstrual cramps, asthma, hair loss, scars, warts, shingles and so much more. The list is almost endless and the benefits astounding. This book explains all there is to know about bee venom, where to find it, how to use, what to use it for, when you should use it, when you shouldn't, common questions, common concerns and even when using bee venom may make certain conditions more problematic. If you have a questions, this book covers it, in easy to understand, down to earth language with verifiable facts and information. Bee venom may be the miracle you have been searching for.

The nature .and diversity of presentations at the conference on: "Bee Products: Prop erties, Applications and Apitherapy" held at Tel-Aviv on May 26--30, 1996, emphasize the increasing interest of physicians, practitioners, scientists, herbalists, dieticians, cosmeti cians, microbiologists, and beekeepers in different facets of bee products. This volume consists of a selection of 31 contributions presented at the conference and which provide information on the present status of our knowledge in this area. In spite of their diversity, they reflect the mainstream of the conference, namely: "Imported" Prod ucts (honey, pollen and propolis), Exocrine Secretions of Workers (venom, royal jelly). Toxicity and Contaminants, Quality Control, Marketing, Apitherapy, Cosmetics, etc. Since antiquity, honey as well as other bee products were used as food, as a cure for ailments of humans and animals, and as cosmetics. We hope that this volume will contribute to interdisciplinary studies on chemical composition, pharmacological effects, nutrition, and other aspects of bee products. Critical and unbiased experimental research may unravel the yet unknown composition and mode of action of bee products and elucidate many unanswered questions. The noteworthy features of this conference were the participants from all parts of the world and of different cultural backgrounds, who shared their keen interest and curios ity regarding honey bees and their products. We thank all of them for their personal con tribution to the success of this conference.

DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "Apis Mellifica; or, The Poison of the Honey-Bee, Considered as a Therapeutic Agent" by C. W. Wolf. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.