MELICINAL Honey & Elderberry

Extreme temperatures, sharp changes in temperature, stress, the change of seasons... all these factors can affect the immune system and bring about the first cold or flu symptoms. Our MELICINAL product range helps to fight the most common winter illnesses (common cold, flu ...) by strengthening defences, relieving sore throats and calming coughs.

Honey has been used since ancient times to alleviate many ailments. Rich in carbohydrates, honey also contains proteins, amino acids, minerals, organic acids, vitamins and polyphenols (1). Consuming honey has been found to treat throat infections and combat fatigue (2), among many other uses.

Elderberry (Sambucus nigra L.) is native to Europe, North Africa, and central and western Asia. It is a shrub that can grow up to 10 m tall, with creamy white flowers and dark purple fruits. Elderberry fruit is rich in vitamins A and C, flavonoid compounds and anthocyanosides (3). Used for centuries due to its medicinal properties, elderberry is now mainly used to treat the common cold and flu (4).

Royal jelly is a viscous secretion produced in the hypopharyngeal and mandibular glands of worker bees (5). This secretion is the exclusive food of queen bee larvae and contains minerals (mainly calcium and iron), vitamins, fatty acids, proteins and free amino acids (6). Royal jelly has numerous beneficial properties for humans: it is an antioxidant and has anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, antiviral and antibacterial activity (5,7).

Finally, zinc is a micronutrient essential to healthy immune function and is key to protection from infections. Zinc affects different aspects of the immune system, such as modulating specific or acquired immunity, and influences the function of cells that mediate innate non-specific or innate immunity (8).

INGREDIENTS USED:

Ingredient name: Honey powder

Properties:

• Antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties (1).
• Demulcent properties that help to sooth night-time coughing and sore throats (9).

Ingredient name: Dry extract of black elderberries, standardised to contain 3% anthocyanidins

Scientific name: Sambucus nigra

Part used: Berries

Properties:

• Antibacterial, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory and anti-flu properties (4,10)
• Helps to reduce the duration of colds (11).

Ingredient name: Freeze-dried royal jelly

Properties:

• Antibacterial, immunomodulatory, anti-viral and anti-inflammatory properties (5,7).
• Contains phenolic compounds with antioxidant properties (7).

Ingredient name: Zinc gluconate

Properties:

• Zinc helps to maintain a healthy immune system (12).
• Zinc helps to shorten the duration of colds (13-14).

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

1. Bogdanov et al. (2008) Honey for nutrition and health: a review. J Am Coll Nutr 27(6): 677-689.

2. Ediriweera and Premarathna (2012) Medicinal and cosmetic uses of Bee’s Honey-a review. Ayu 33(2): 178–182.

3. Berdonces JL. Gran diccionario ilustrado de las plantas medicinales descripción y aplicaciones: el libro más completo sobre fitoterapia. Barcelona: Ed. Océano, 2009.

4. Krawitz et al. (2011) Inhibitory activity of a standardized elderberry liquid extract against clinically-relevant human respiratory bacterial pathogens and influenza A and B viruses. BMC Complement Altern Med 11: 16.

5. Chen et al. (2016) In vitro anti-inflammatory effects of three fatty acids from royal jelly. Mediators Inflamm 2016: 3583684.

6. Yuksel and Akyol (2016) The consumption of propolis and royal jelly in preventing upper respiratory tract infections and as dietary supplementation in children. J Intercult Ethnopharmacol 5(3): 308-11.

7. Viuda-Martos et al. (2008) Functional properties of honey, propolis, and royal jelly. J Food Sci 73 (9): 117-124.

8.http://seom.org/seomcms/images/stories/recursos/infopublico/publicaciones/soporteNutricional/pdf/cap_01.pdf

9. Cough and cold remedies for the treatment of acute respiratory infections in young children. Geneva, Switzerland. WHO, 2001.

10. Clapé and Castillo (2011) Caracterización fármaco-toxicológica de la planta medicinal Sambucus nigra subsp. canadensis (L). Revista Cubana de Farmacia 45(4): 586-596.

11. Tiralongo et al. (2016) Elderberry supplementation reduces cold duration and symptoms in air-travellers: a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial. Nutrients 8(4): 182.

12. COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) No 432/2012 of 16 May 2012 establishing a list of permitted health claims made on foods, other than those referring to the reduction of disease risk and to children’s development and health.

13. Hemilä et al. (2016) Zinc acetate lozenges for treating the common cold: an individual patient data meta-analysis. Br J Clin Pharmacol 82(5): 1393-1398.

14. Allan and Arroll (2014) Prevention and treatment of the common cold: making sense of the evidence. CMAJ 186(3): 190-9.