It is the therapeutic use of honey bees and bee products. The practice of using bee products goes all the way back to the ancient Egyptians when royal Jelly was used for maintaining the vigour of youth and anti-aging skin purposes.

Aristotle was one of the first to write about royal jelly and the ancient Greeks used it in one of their most famous elixirs; 'Ambrosia' which was said to bestow immortality upon the gods.

Man has been consuming bee products throughout the centuries and in the 1600's Swammerdam, a Dutch scholar was the first to study a live hive under a magnifying glass. He noticed what an important part royal jelly played in the hive as the queen bee was fed on it.

Modern scientific research has discovered that royal jelly and other bee products have many health benefits that go far beyond maintaining vigour and younger looking skin. Royal Jelly is a combination of honey and bee pollen, combined with enzymes. Its chemical composition contains amongst other things:

Glucids: glucose and fructose in equal amounts.

Lipids: including hydroxytransdecenoic acid, which possesses antibacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-germinative properties.

Minerals: calcium, iron, and potassium.

Vitamins: all the B vitamins, especially B5 -royal jelly is the richest natural source known; vitamins B12, vitamin C, and the fat soluble vitamins are also present in lesser quantities.

Acetylcholine: in large quantities of mg/gram; its vasodilator properties make its use especially useful for the treatment of circulatory disorders that affect the elderly. It also has neurotransmitter activity, which aids the nervous system helping to relax.

Other elements: including gamma-globulin, which helps in disease resistance.

In addition besides royal jelly other great breakthroughs are being made in other products such as honey bee venom therapy. Honey bee venom therapy is based on its beneficial natural ingredients including neurotransmitters and anti-inflammatory chemicals.

The effectiveness of bee venom therapy is thought to be even more effective by combining the stings with working acupressure/acupuncture points, nerve meridians, and scared areas. This therapy is now used to combat the effects of a number of diseases.

Georgetown University in the USA is doing a clinical controlled study related to MS whilst "The Journal of the American Apitherapy Society" reports on studies around the world using apitherapy to treat illnesses and injuries.

In addition to bee venom therapy, honey, propolis, pollen and "bee bread" have been used in the treatment of many illnesses and wounds. The findings of these trials are showing amongst many other things the effectiveness of apitherapy in helping to cure tennis elbow.