Wines Bee Yard
Apitherapy
What Is Apitherapy?
APITHERAPY, or “bee therapy” (from the Latin apis which means bee) is the medicinal use of products made by
honeybees.
Proudcts of the Honeybee include bee venom, honey, pollen, royal jelly, propolis, and beeswax.
Some of the conditions treated (not in any special order) are: multiple sclerosis, arthritis, wounds, pain, gout, shingles,
burns, tendonitis, and infections.
Therapies involving the honeybee have existed for thousands of years and some may be old as human medicine itself. The
ancient rock art of early hunter-gatherers depicts the honeybee as a source of natural medicine. Bee venom therapy was
practiced in ancient Egypt, Greece, and China—three Great Civilizations known for their highly developed medical
systems. Hippocrates, the Greek physician known as the “Father of Medicine”, recognized the healing virtues of bee
venom for treating arthritis and other joint problems. Today, growing scientific evidence suggests that various bee
products promote healing by improving circulation, decreasing inflammation, and stimulating a healthy immune response.
The more modern study of apitherapy, specifically bee venom, was initiated through the efforts of Austrian physician Philip
Terc in his published results “Report about a Peculiar Connection between the Bee Stings and Rheumatism” in 1888.
Bodog Beck (Budapest, Hugary 1871 – NYC, 1942) followed Terc, and brought Apitherapy to the United States. More recent
popularity has been credited to Charles Mraz (1905 – 1999), a beekeeper from Vermont, who knew Beck. Some of the
Board Members of the American Apitherapy Society, as well as some general AAS members, have been trained by and/or
treated and inspired by Mraz. The Society’s annual educational and training event, CMACC, is named for him, the Charles
Mraz Apitherapy Course and Conference.
For detailed information you may also read:
Introduction to Bee Venom Therapy, by Charles Mraz
The Buzz on Bee Therapy (a 2008 article in a health Journal)
http://www.fao.org:80/docrep/w0076e/w0076e00.HTM (this is highly informative and detailed information about products of
the hive and their uses, including apitherapy written by Krell for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation
)