Propolis EPP-AF® - from a Clinical Trials point of view

Bee products, especially propolis, have been used by humans as natural medicine since ancient times. However, propolis varies with bee species and with the flora that bees visit to collect bioactive exudates. In recent years, efforts have been made towards standardization of propolis, and some of the resulting products have been tested in clinical trials. Along this line, we present the results of safety and efficacy clinical studies done for EPP-AF® propolis. This includes an acute safety clinical trial with 14 healthy volunteers given 375 mg of EPP-AF® for 5 days. Antioxidant effects were evaluated with 34 healthy volunteers who received two different doses (375 or 750 mg/day) of EPP-AF® during 7 ± 2 days. Protection of renal function was also evaluated with a dosage of 500 mg/day, administered for 12 months to chronic kidney disease patients. Also, the time of hospitalization after treatment with propolis of 82 COVID-19 patients was measured. The results demonstrated that EPP-AF® is safe and improved the values of HDL. EPP-AF reduced biomarkers of oxidative stress cell damage, with increased antioxidant enzymatic capacity, especially of SOD, and there was a notable reduction of membrane damage (8-ISO/8-isoprostanes) and of DNA damage (8-OHDG/8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine). In the evaluation of renal function protection, proteinuria, the biomarker used, was reduced, becoming significantly lower after 6 months of treatment, improving the condition of patients with chronic kidney disease. Finally, the hospitalization time of COVID-19 patients was reduced to 7 and 6 days, after receiving 400 and 800 mg/day, respectively, for 7 days, compared to 12 days for the control group. These, and other clinical trials using propolis conducted around the world are increasing the robustness of the scientific evidence for propolis as a valuable and safe healthcare resource that doctors and other health professionals can use for patient care.