BEES AND BEE PRODUCTS

Beekeeping is an agricultural and economic occupation in every aspect. It is an agricultural branch that can be done with little capital and little expense, without being dependent on the land, can bring income in a short time, increases the income level of landless and small land farmers living in villages in and around the forest, and has great socio-economic importance. It is a suitable profession for landless or small land farmers.

Turkey's natural conditions, geographical location, suitable climate conditions and rich vegetation are suitable for beekeeping activities. Beekeeping can be carried out in harmony with any or all of the various production branches such as field agriculture, vineyard - garden agriculture and animal husbandry in an agricultural enterprise, and it can also be easily done in meadows, pastures and plateaus without being dependent on the land, separately from the enterprise. Because each of the agricultural production branches provides nectar sources for bees at different rates.

The elderly and children can easily engage in beekeeping in a beekeeping enterprise. Because beekeeping is an easy and enjoyable occupation. On the other hand, beekeeping is an alternative source of income for small family businesses, retirees, landless farmers, teachers and village imams. Beekeeping does not require intensive labor and the labor force within the business that is idle during certain periods of the year can easily be utilized in beekeeping.

Beekeeping should always be considered as an inseparable part of agriculture. The role of bees in pollination and the dimensions of the added value that this role creates in plant production make beekeeping indispensable for plant product agriculture. Pollination is essential for fruit and seed formation in flowering plants. Pollination is the basis of fruit and seed production and fruit and seed production is not possible in many species without pollination. The real value of honeybees stems from their functions in pollinating plants rather than their production of bee products such as honey and beeswax. Although it varies depending on the plant, insects hold the most important place among pollinators. The insects that hold the most important place among insect pollinators are honeybees. 90% of pollinator insects are bees.

It is estimated that approximately 1/3 of the food consumed in developed countries is obtained directly and indirectly from products resulting from bee pollination. Pollination by bees in all plants requiring foreign pollination and in many of those that are self-fertile not only increases the amount of product but also positively affects the quality of the product. The quality and quantity of the product increases.

When it comes to beekeeping in Turkey, honey comes to mind immediately. However, there are also bee products such as beeswax, royal jelly, pollen, propolis, apilarnil, perga and bee venom, each of which is very important for human life and health.

BEE PRODUCTS

HONEY

Honey is a sweet product formed as a result of the collection of nectars found in the flowers of plants or substances secreted by some insects by utilizing the living parts of plants by honey bees and their maturation by storing them in honeycomb cells. Honey is generally divided into flower honey and secretion honey according to the sources from which it is obtained.

Honey has traditionally been used to treat wounds, insect bites, burns and skin disorders. Today, it is reported that honey is used as a blood sugar booster, physical and mental fatigue reliever, energy booster, vitalizer, and supportive in healing some wounds, asthma, stomach, circulation, respiratory, cancer, blood pressure, and vascular diseases.

POLLEN

Pollen is the male reproductive unit of plants and is collected by worker bees to meet the protein needs of the colony in royal jelly production and brood rearing. The composition and nutritional value of pollen can vary greatly depending on the plant species. Pollen contains amino acids necessary for humans as well as vitamins A, B Complex, C and E, and minerals K, Na, Ca, Mg, P, S, Al, B, Cl, Cu, I, Fe, Mn, Ni, Si, Ti, and Zn. Pollen is generally considered to be a rich source in inadequate diets and in meeting basic nutrients in nutrition. Pollen is widely used for facilitating digestion, cell renewal, vitality, appetite stimulant, hemoglobin booster, cold, osteoporosis, headache, nervous and ulcer disorders.

BEE JELLY

Bee jelly is a highly nutritious, white, mushy, slightly bitter, acidic bee product secreted from the glands on the heads of young worker bees. The importance of bee jelly is due to the fact that the queen bee is fed with bee jelly throughout her life and that she lays eggs equal to her own weight every day. In Europe and America, for the last 35 years, bee jelly has been accepted as a special food that extends human life and keeps them healthy and vigorous due to the vital substances it contains, and has been used in various areas in the cosmetics industry.

The main substances of bee jelly: water, proteins, sugars, lipids and minerals. The water content is approximately 2/3 of fresh bee jelly, and proteins and sugars (fructose and glucose) are the most important fractions in the dry part. A total of 29 amino acids and their derivatives have been determined in bee jelly. Aspartic acid and glutamic acid are among them. All essential amino acids are found in the structure of bee jelly. Another important substance in royal jelly is acid-10-hydroxy-decenoic, the concentration of which is a parameter for the quality of royal jelly.

Royal jelly is used in cosmetics, in stimulating physical performance, in providing learning capacity and self-confidence, in increasing resistance to anemia, cholesterol, viral infections, in the treatment of diseases such as cancer, chronic and recurring diseases, high and low blood pressure and arteriosclerosis.

PROPOLIS

Propolis is a bee product collected by worker honeybees from the buds, leaves and similar parts of trees such as pine, oak, eucalyptus, poplar, chestnut, etc. and some herbaceous plants. Propolis has been used by people since ancient times either in the treatment of various diseases or in reducing their effects. Propolis, which is widely used in traditional medicine and praised by Hippocrates, Herodotus, Aristotle and other ancient scholars, has been used by people since ancient times either in the treatment of various diseases or in reducing their effects.

Propolis is used as a tissue repairer, vasoconstrictor, blood coagulant, wound healer, in skin diseases such as psoriasis, hemorrhoids, eczema, in the treatment of mouth sores, toothache, stomach ulcers, nephritis, urinary tract infections, influenza and many other diseases and in the cosmetics sector.

BEE VENOM

Bee venom is a clear, sharp, bitter-tasting, sour-smelling and acidic liquid. Bee venom is used in rheumatism, as well as some types of cancer, muscle pain, joint and neurological inflammations, sore throat, migraine, asthma, lowering cholesterol, general immune stimulant, premenstrual syndrome. The most commonly used and known product for treatment purposes among bee products is bee venom.

BEESWAX

The main ingredient of beeswax is honey and it is an oily substance secreted by the beeswax glands on the lower surface of the abdominal rings of 13-18 day old worker bees. It is used in the production of various ointments and face creams, in dentistry, in the polishing of waterproof materials and wooden objects, in the production of parquet varnish, in the paint industry, in the sculpture and trinket industry, in the production of candles as a source of light, and in the perfumery industry.

RESOURCES

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