Complementary medicines based on propolis produced by honeybees from Australian

蜜蜂生产的蜂胶是一种非常复杂的混合物，其化学成分与其花卉来源有关。为了生产蜂胶，蜜蜂收集叶芽和花蕾分泌物，也收集从植物伤口渗出的分泌物。这些材料具有很高的抗生素活性，因为它们具有保护脆弱的生长或受伤的植物组织免受微生物和动物攻击的天然功能。蜜蜂用蜂胶给蜂箱消毒，保护蜂箱免受外来入侵者和感染，并封堵蜂箱中的裂缝。因此，人类自古以来就将蜂胶用于医疗目的。现代研究表明，蜂胶的一个有价值的特性是它的免疫刺激活性，现在广泛用于预防医学以增强免疫系统。此外，它的抗氧化和抗炎特性也被认为是它目前在补充和替代医学(CAM)中使用的原因。作为澳大利亚生产的蜂胶药用研究的一部分，我们从袋鼠岛(KI)蜂胶中鉴定出两类新的生物活性成分，这是首次在蜂胶中发现的。尽管KI蜂胶目前被出口到日本作为CAM使用，但还没有研究确定其化学成分或评估其生物活性。因此，我们旨在对KI蜂胶进行研究，并评价其作为CAM的药用性能。来自特定地区的蜂胶和已确定的成分将被评估其抗氧化性能和对暴露在相当于阳光的紫外线辐射下的细胞损伤的保护作用，目的是建立一种明确的蜂胶配方，作为CAM用于预防在澳大利亚流行的紫外线诱导的皮肤癌，即黑色素瘤。这项研究将增加目前从KI出口的一种养蜂产品的价值，并提供健康益处。

Propolis produced by honeybees is a very complex mixture and its chemical composition varies in relation to its floral source. To produce propolis honey bees collect leaf bud and flowerbud exudates also secretions exuded from wounds in plants. These materials have high antibiotic activity as they have a natural function to protect delicate growing or wounded plant tissue from attack from microorganisms and animals. Honey bees use propolis to sterilize the hive and to protect it against outside intruders and infection and to seal cracks in the hive. Consequently, humans have made use of propolis since ancient time for medicinal purposes. Modern research shows that a valuable property of propolis is its immunostimulant activity, now widely used in preventive medicine to boost the immune system. Furthermore, its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties are also believed to contribute to its current use in Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). As part of research into the medicinal use of propolis produced in Australia, we identified two novel classes of biologically active constituents in Kangaroo Island (KI) propolis, which are for the first time identified to occur in propolis. Despite KI propolis being currently exported to Japan for use as CAM there is no study to determine its chemical composition or to evaluate its biological activities. Therefore we aim to research the KI propolis and evaluate its medicinal properties for use as CAM. Propolis from specific regions with defined floral sources and the identified constituents will be evaluated for their antioxidant property and protective activities against cell damaged after exposed to light source equivalent UV radiation of the sunlight with the aim to establish a defined propolis formula for topical use as CAM to prevent UV-induced skin cancers, known as melanoma, which is prevalent in Australia. This research will add value to a beekeeping product currently exported from KI and provide a health benefit.