The British research team has made a gel treatment from ulcers of mouth which is made from a mixture of resin and wax used by honey bees to disinfect their hives. The therapeutic properties of proplis have already been known for years but it has not been extensively used because the sultry matter is not soluble in water and it has strong and disgusting smell.
But now the research team from the University of Bradford has revealed a method to cleanse the therapeutic mixture so that it can be soluble in water and loses it repulsive odour. Propolis is a complicated chemical mix and a very useful natural product, explained study author Prof Anant Paradkar.
Propolis has been revealed to have anti-fungal, a strong anti-oxidant, anti-microbial, non-allergenic and may enhance the immune system. Due to its anesthetic properties, it can encourage wound healing. The main sticking point in developing products has been the solubility and odour issues, which their formulation overcomes, added Prof Paradkar.
Now they have developing a new method to decontaminate propolis in teamwork with natural medicine manufacturer, Nature’s Laboratory. They jointly made a new propolis based gel for mouth ulcer that has improved anesthetic, anti-microbial and anti-fungal properties than gels already on the market and is also safe for use in children.
According to Prof Paradkar, a problem with mouth gel is that adhesion to skin membrane inside the mouth is hard, due to the nature of the surface, the gel can merely slither off. Because propolis preserves some of its stickiness in a water soluble formulation when it is applied to specific areas in the mouth, it sticks on more efficiently.