"The Miracle Of Propolis" by Mitja Vosnjak--Book Review

Vosnjak, Mitja. The Miracle Of Propolis.  (Wellingboro, Northhamptonshire, England Thorsons Publishers Limited 1978)

Ever since I was a child, I have been exposed to bees, beekeeping, and honey.  My parents regularly bought and ate honey although my mother did not regularly cook with it.  My paternal grandfather Charley Hicks was a well known beekeeper in Mousie, Kentucky, where he spent his entire life. I have read in genealogical writings of his regularly riding a mule from Mousie, Kentucky, to the coal camps in Floyd County on Beaver Creek.  One story says that he would load two burlap bags of honey, one of quarts and one of pints, on a Saturday morning, tie them to the saddle horn of his mule, leave Mousie singing, and ride to Wayland, Lackey, Estill, Glow, Punkin Center, and Garrett to sell his honey.  My maternal uncle Corbett Terry, around whom I grew up with my cousins Johnny and Jack Terry, regularly kept several hives of bees until he became too infirm to do so.   I sometimes provided minor help to Corbett when he was working his bees.  

Elizabeth and Charley Hicks Photo by The Hicks Family

I also became interested in the possible therapeutic effects of bee venom as my wife began to experience what have become disabling neurological symptoms arising in a rare genetic anomaly.  So when I strayed into this book, "The Miracle Of Propolis" by Mitja Vosnjak, I immediately chose to read it.  The book was published in 1978 so it is clearly possible that research into the possible therapeutic effects of propolis is more advanced than it was at the time of publication. However, there seems to be little empirical research available on the Internet to support or deny the efficacy of propolis despite many anecdotal accounts of successes with its use. But I am also convinced that many of my readers are likely to be interested in this book.

Mitja Vosnjak was a Yugoslavian diplomat who gave up his career in diplomacy to become Director of the Center For Biotic Research. He devoted a great deal of his time to research and writing about the therapeutic effects of honey and its byproducts including propolis, royal jelly, and bees wax.  However, I must say that this book is much more anecdotal than empirical.  But it does do a great deal to increase my curiosity about the potential therapeutic gains which bee byproducts might provide.  It is worth reading if you are interested in bees, beekeeping, propolis, bee venom, or royal jelly.  However, I believe that any claims made in this book should be investigated further by the reader with further reading, more empirical research, and, perhaps, some judicious personal experimentation with bee byproducts.