Benefits Royal Jelly

Royal jelly is a honey bee secretion that is used in the nutrition of the larvae. It is secreted from the hypopharyngeal glands in the heads of young workers and used to feed all of the larvae in the colony, including those destined to become workers. If a queen is needed, the hatchling will receive only royal jelly - and in large quantities - as its food source for the first four days of its growth, and this rapid, early feeding triggers the development of queen morphology, including the fully developed ovaries needed to lay eggs. Some commercial royal jelly suppliers disseminate misinformation such as "Only queen larvae and adult queens are fed royal jelly"; the fact remains that all larvae in a colony are fed royal jelly, and adult bees do not consume it at all.

People collect and sell royal jelly as a dietary supplement, claiming various health benefits because of components like B-complex vitamins such as pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) and vitamin B6 (pyridoxine); it can also be found in various beauty products. The overall composition of royal jelly is 67% water, 12.5% crude protein and 11% simple sugars, also including a relatively high amount of fatty acids. It also contains many trace minerals, some enzymes, antibacterial and antibiotic components, and trace amounts of vitamin C. Vitamins A, D, and E are completely absent from royal jelly.

 It may have some cholesterol-lowering effects, as well as immunomodulatory, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, wound-healing and antibiotic effects, though the last three of these effects are unlikely to be realized if ingested. Royal Jelly has been reported to stimulate the growth of Glial Cells and Neural Stem Cells in the brain, which may account for its reputation as a longer-term cognitive enhancer and as a beneficial agent in cases of Parkinson's Disease.