This mix of propolis and honey is a valid adjuvant in the fight against ailments typical of the cold season, but it can also be for skin health and other problems.
What is propolis
Propolis, like honey, is produced by bees, but starting from different raw materials and for different purposes. Honey for bees is essentially a source of food, particularly valuable as a reserve when food is scarce during the winter season and as we know it is the result of the transformation of flower nectar by bees. Propolis is instead a substance of resinous consistency, it is used by bees as a real sealant to mechanically close small holes in the hive (for larger openings they use wax), but also to protect it from bacteria and fungi thanks to its strong antimicrobial properties, bees also produce it and above all starting from the resinous sap of plants. If we look at the composition of propolis we find that in fact 50% is made up of resins, another 20% of wax, but it also contains a good 10% of essential and aromatic oils. Never as in the case of propolis must we add that "there is propolis and propolis!", the actual composition of propolis can vary greatly from product to product, both for reasons inherent to production by bees (the season in which it is produced and the species of bee), and for reasons related to the collection of the resinous substance which is not easy. To collect the resinous substance that covers the walls of the hive, you need to immerse the walls of the hives in alcohol and then separate the wax residues from the propolis. Obviously, the type of alcohol or other solvent used in the washing process also affects the composition of the final product. There is also an alternative method of collecting propolis that consists of inducing the bees to deposit it on sheets, obviously in this case the collection will be easier.
Beneficial properties of the mix of propolis and honey
Honey is known to have energetic and restorative properties due to the nutritional properties of sugars, but also anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. It seems quite intuitive, given what is written in the previous paragraph about propolis, that "drugging" honey with the addition of propolis pursues the aim of enhancing these latter aspects thanks to the superior antibacterial and antifungal properties of propolis.