Health Benefits of Honey and Other Bee Products

Data

Official data in SubjectManager for the following academic year: 2024-2025

Topic

Honey and other products of the beehive (e.g. propolis, royal jelly) have had an important role in preserving our health since ancient times. Today there is growing interest towards various fields of apitherapy both from healthcare professionals and people who intend to use a bee product to alleviate the symptoms of a disease or for prevention. The course provides an overview about various fields of apitherapy, including the origin, types, physico-chemical characteristics and medicinal application of honey, propolis, royal jelly and bee venom - based on recent scientific evidence. The course will cover the issues related to the adulteration and identification of honey. The practice will focus on the analysis of various types of honey: the botanical origin of honey will be confirmed with microscopical pollen analysis and measurement of physico-chemical parameters, while the antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of honey will be determined with in vitro tests.

Lectures

• 1. Botanical and geographical origin of honeys. - Farkas Ágnes
• 2. Chemical composition of honey. - Farkas Ágnes
• 3. Honey types of Hungary (botanical origin, sensory analysis, physico-chemical properties). - Farkas Ágnes
• 4. Honey types worldwide (botanical origin, sensory analysis, physico-chemical properties). - Farkas Ágnes
• 5. Methods used in identification of honey samples. Honey adulteration. - Nagy-Radványi Lilla
• 6. Identifying honeys with microscopical pollen analysis. - Nagy-Radványi Lilla
• 7. Medicinal application of honey. - Farkas Ágnes
• 8. Antimicrobial effect of honey and propolis. - Farkas Ágnes
• 9. Other fields of apitherapy. - Farkas Ágnes
• 10. Other bee products with health benefits. - Farkas Ágnes

Practices

• 1. Sensory analysis of honeys. - Balázs Viktória Lilla
• 2. Examination of physico-chemical properties of honeys. - Balázs Viktória Lilla
• 3. Microscopical pollen analysis of honeys I. - Nagy-Radványi Lilla
• 4. Microscopical pollen analysis of honeys II. - Nagy-Radványi Lilla
• 5. Microscopical pollen analysis of honeys III. - Nagy-Radványi Lilla
• 6. Microscopical pollen analysis of honeys IV. - Nagy-Radványi Lilla
• 7.

  Measuring antioxidant capacity of honey samples I.

  - Nagy-Radványi Lilla
• 8.

  Measuring antioxidant capacity of honey samples II.

  - Nagy-Radványi Lilla
• 9.

  Measuring antioxidant capacity of honey samples III.

  - Nagy-Radványi Lilla
• 10.

  Measuring antioxidant capacity of honey samples IV.

  - Nagy-Radványi Lilla
• 11. Determining the antimicrobial effect of honey samples with in vitro assays I. - Balázs Viktória Lilla
• 12. Determining the antimicrobial effect of honey samples with in vitro assays II. - Balázs Viktória Lilla
• 13. Determining the antimicrobial effect of propolis with in vitro assays I. - Balázs Viktória Lilla
• 14. Determining the antimicrobial effect of propolis with in vitro assays II. - Balázs Viktória Lilla

Seminars

Reading material

Obligatory literature

Literature developed by the Department

Teaching materials (PowerPoint slideshows) will be available in Teams.

Notes

Recommended literature

The course will involve critical evaluation of recent literature sources (articles in scientific journals, book chapters, websites).

Conditions for acceptance of the semester

Students are expected to participate actively in at least 85% of classes, particularly in the laboratory practices.
Students' notebooks will be checked after practicals. Students have to successfully complete two written tests.

Mid-term exams

Students have to pass 2 written tests with at least 60% of correct answers.

Students are required to prepare lab notes based on laboratory activities.

Making up for missed classes

There is no possibility for making up for missed classes.

Exam topics/questions

(1) Botanical and geographical origin of honey.

(2) Chemical composition of honey.

(3) Types of honeys in Hungary and abroad.

(4) Sensory analysis of honeys.

(5) Physico-chemical characteristics of different honey types.

(6) Methods for identifying various types of honey.

(7) Microscopic pollen analysis of honeys.

(8) Honey adulteration.

(9) Medicinal use of honey.

(10) Other fields of apitherapy.

(11) Other bee products with health benefits.

(12) Antioxidant activity of honeys.

(13) Antimicrobial effect of honey and propolis.

Examiners

Instructor / tutor of practices and seminars

• Balázs Viktória Lilla
• Nagy-Radványi Lilla