Most people are not unfamiliar with propolis and beeswax. Some people even think that propolis and beeswax are both natural substances made by bees, and that there is no difference between the two. Some people also think that propolis and beeswax are the same thing. , In fact, this is incorrect. There is actually a difference between propolis and beeswax. What are the differences between propolis and beeswax?
Propolis is the resin collected by worker bees in the bee colony from the buds and branches of plants, combined with the bees' own beeswax, enzymes and digestive juices. It is an amorphous or amorphous substance. Beeswax is a substance secreted by four pairs of wax glands under the abdomen of worker bees. Its main components are: acids, free fatty acids, free fatty alcohols and carbohydrates. In addition, there are carotenoids, vitamin A, aromatic substances and so on. Beeswax has a wide range of uses in industrial and agricultural production, while propolis is only used in the field of consumption.
Beeswax is mainly used by bees to make nests; propolis is an effective substance used by bees to maintain the health of the entire colony. A colony of 50,000 to 60,000 bees can only produce 100-150 grams of propolis a year, known as "purple gold". . And when the temperature of propolis reaches 60~70℃, it melts into a viscous fluid and separates the beeswax.
The collection of beeswax is mostly done in spring and autumn. By strengthening bee colony feeding and management, beekeepers promote bees to secrete more wax and build more spleens, and then cut off the old hives and spleens that have been used for many years, the built spleen, the wax cover of the hive, the base and the honey that is cut off when shaking honey. The honey caps are collected and extracted manually. Generally, the honeycomb after removing the honey is put into a water pot and heated and melted to remove impurities such as the upper layer of cocoon, bee corpse, foam, etc., filter while it is hot, and let it cool. Into a block, float on the water surface, take out, that is yellow wax. The yellow wax is then refined and decolorized to become white wax.
1. Beeswax is a fatty substance produced by the thoracic wax glands of worker bees in bees. When worker bees grow for more than two weeks, the thoracic wax glands will begin to produce beeswax liquid. The cold air then takes on a scaly appearance, and when these scaly substances aggregate together, they form what we see as beeswax.
2. Although propolis is also a substance produced by worker bees, its composition is very different from beeswax. Propolis is a combination of plant buds and natural resins combined with beeswax produced by worker bees, with enzymes and digestion. It is a natural substance formed by the combination of various substances such as liquid, so the nutrients and health benefits of propolis are much higher than those of beeswax.
3. Beeswax is an important component of honeycombs, while propolis is a natural substance used for sterilization and disinfection of honeycombs. There are a lot of heavy metals in beeswax, which is not suitable for people to eat. After the beeswax is purified and the beeswax is removed, it can become a high-level nutritional product suitable for people to eat. After people eat it, it can prevent cardiovascular and cerebrovascular, diabetes and heart disease. and many other diseases.
