Bee Products as Natural Cure for Depression
The debilitating side effects of antidepressant drugs like ketamine, clorgyline, fluoxetine, imipramine, and their failure to produce complete recovery have pushed researchers to search for safer and more effective natural alternatives.
To date many clinical studies have assessed bee products for their antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic properties and their effectiveness in physiological diseases, but not their biological and therapeutic effects on depression and mental health issues. Beyond the understanding from many studies that bee products have highly bioactive compounds, such as phenolic compound, their roles in psychological or neurodegenerative diseases are little known.
A study supported by Research Fund of Karadeniz Technical University made big steps forward to show that honey, pollen and propolis possess substantial inhibition of monoamine oxidases (MAOs), which are a type of flavoprotein present in the outer mitochondrial membrane of neuronal and non-neuronal cells. Monoamine oxidases inhibitors (MAOIs) are used in the treatment of depressive disorders and neurodegenerative illnesses such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease (Molecules, 2019; Journal of Enzyme Inhibition and Medicinal Chemistry, 2014). The inhibition effects of propolis were found to be the most significant in the study. Overall, the results of the study concluded that bee products possess a sedative effect and may be effective in protecting humans against depression and similar diseases.
Research details in: Journal of Enzyme Inhibition and Medicinal Chemistry
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