Propolis is so versatile
Around 20 BC, the Roman poet Virgil wrote in the 4th book of his didactic poems “Georgica”: “They put tear dew on the narcissus And glue on the bark For the honeycomb as the first foundation”. The glue in the bark is resin that bees make from the resinous parts of tree buds. Like human craftsmen, they use it to seal joints and cracks . Each individual brood comb is also covered with a thin film of propolis so that no germs can destroy the brood. The individual substances of propolis are of interest for medicine. It is said to have an effect comparable to that of antibiotics  .
Definition: Propolis
The word propolis comes from the Greek (pro – before, for; polis – city) and means “in front of the city” or “for the city”. The resin produced by the bees themselves keeps viruses, fungi  and bacteria out of the hive. Bees collect resin from conifers or tree buds and store the resinous wax in their pollen baskets. In the hive they mix it with wax and bee pollen. They use it to disinfect the interior of their hive and seal small cracks.
effect of propolis
Propolis has a pronounced antibiotic  and also antiviral  and antifungal effect.  It is considered the strongest natural antibiotic. Occasionally beekeepers are surprised to find a mouse mummified with propolis in the hive: the intruder has been stung to death, but the bees cannot remove it. To prevent it from decomposing and contaminating the hive with bacteria, they cover it with a film of propolis. The Egyptians also made use of this technique – they mummified their corpses with resin or propolis.
Use as a multipurpose antibacterial agent
The antiviral, antifungal and antibacterial effect of propolis on humans was already known several thousand years ago. The Greek Hippocrates (460 – 377 BC) already referred to the effect of propolis on ulcers  on the skin and the gastrointestinal tract in ancient times.
Aristotle (384 – 322 BC) valued the healing properties of propolis, especially for bruises, skin diseases  and purulent wounds. The Roman Gaius Plinius Secundus (23 – 79 AD) wrote about the effect of propolis from the bee colony. The Incas used propolis for fever infections. The Roman military doctors needed it as a wound disinfectant,  and it was still used in Russia during World War II.
Scientists around the world are now working on the medical properties of this building material of bees: propolis actually strengthens the immune system and works against inflammation of the mucous membranes and skin diseases.
Propolis: use in cancer?
Animal studies have been running for decades, testing isolated ingredients from propolis on tumor cells. The focus here is on the active ingredient  caffeic acid phenethyl ester, which can inhibit gene-regulated chemotherapy resistance in cell cultures.
In clinical studies, however, neither that ester nor other substances from propolis have been able to  assert themselves as a form of therapy against cancer .
Often there is also talk of a supporting effect of propolis for patients with radiation-related mucositis. But here, too, further research is required, as the data is not clear.