Royal jelly: a predictive, preventive and personalised strategy for novel treatment options in non-communicable diseases

• Published in: The EPMA journal Vol. 14; no. 3; pp. 381 - 404
• Main Authors: Baptista, Beatriz G., Lima, Ligia S., Ribeiro, Marcia, Britto, Isadora K., Alvarenga, Livia, Kemp, Julie A., Cardozo, Ludmila FMF, Berretta, Andresa A., Mafra, Denise
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 18.07.2023; BioMed Central Ltd; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Amino acids; Anti-inflammatory agents; Antioxidants; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Care and treatment; Communicable diseases; Evidence-based medicine; Fatty acids; Health aspects; Inflammation; Isoflavones; Medical treatment; Medicine/Public Health; Methyl salicylate; Oxidative stress; Precision medicine; Proteins; Review; Vitamins; Royal jelly; Predictive preventive personalised medicine (PPPM/3 PM); Non-communicable disease; Oxidative stress; Inflammation; Dysbiosis
• ISSN: 1878-5085; 1878-5077; 1878-5085
• DOI: 10.1007/s13167-023-00330-8

Royal jelly (RJ) is a bee product produced by young adult worker bees, composed of water, proteins, carbohydrates and lipids, rich in bioactive components with therapeutic properties, such as free fatty acids, mainly 10-hydroxy-trans-2-decenoic acid (10-H2DA) and 10-hydroxydecanoic acid (10-HDA), and major royal jelly proteins (MRJPs), as well as flavonoids, most flavones and flavonols, hormones, vitamins and minerals. In vitro, non-clinical and clinical studies have confirmed its vital role as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. This narrative review discusses the possible effects of royal jelly on preventing common complications of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as inflammation, oxidative stress and intestinal dysbiosis, from the viewpoint of predictive, preventive and personalised medicine (PPPM/3PM). It is concluded that RJ, predictively, can be used as a non-pharmacological therapy to prevent and mitigate complications related to NCDs, and the treatment must be personalised.