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What is Propolis? 　
Propolis has been around for over 45 million years, and has been used by man for thousands of years. Propolis is a sticky resin, which seeps from the buds of certain trees. The bees gather propolis, sometimes called “bee glue” and carry it home in their pollen baskets. The worker bees then take the resinous material and add salivary secretions and wax flakes to it and use the bee propolis in two ways: firstly to reinforce the hive itself, and secondly propolis protects the hive from bacterial and viral infection. 　
What is Propolis made from? 　 Propolis consists of 55% resinous compounds and balsams, 30% beeswax, 10% aromatic oils, 5% bee pollen. Chemically, propolis is exceedingly complex and contains a rich variety of potent terpenes and benzoic, caffeic, cinnamic, and phenolic acids. Propolis is very high in flavanoid content, which has been proven to account for many of the health giving benefits attributed to propolis. 　
Chemical Composition More than 180 compounds have been identified in propolis, and many are biologically active. Flavonoids are abundant, including apigenin, galangin, kaempferol, luteolin, pinocembrin, pinostrobin and quercitin. 　
Why are flavonoids so important to our health: Propolis has a high concentration of flavonoids. Flavonoids, or bioflavonoids, are a group of polyphenolic substances which are present in most plants, concentrating in seeds, fruit skin or peel, bark, and flowers. A great number of plant medicines contain flavonoids Flavonoids play an important protective role in plants. 　
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