No. This is a very important question!

Honey is made by bees as a source of food and energy inside of the beehive.

Propolis is also made by the bees from sap of certain plants but used often on the outside of the hive to close any openings or cracks and ensuring no harmful agents penetrate the beehive.

The important difference is: there is no sugar content in propolis and therefore IT IS appropriate for consumption by people in restricted sugar lifestyles.

Propolis sourced from different regions of Brazil present different colors, primarily described by brown, green and red – these are the most well-known types. The color comes from the resin collected by bees from their surrounding vegetation to produce propolis, and the variation indicates a different profile of polyphenolic content.

Standardization is an extremely important concept in the world of natural products. Specifically, in our context, standardization means to consistently achieve established levels of health-relevant compounds present in Brazilian propolis. 

So, first, we need to identify what truly matters: the compounds that promote health benefits. Secondly, we must verify that those compounds are consistently present in the finished product at specified levels. 

Most companies do not perform standardization. They simply report the amount of propolis per serving without disclosing what truly matters, what’s inside the propolis.  

Our standardization of the products can be found in Supplement Facts and it is such that each capsule will contain a certain amount of Brazilian propolis, naturally occurring, polyphenols. 

At NaturaNectar, we have a world-class quality system built to guarantee a consistent end-product. Various tests are performed along the supply chain to verify for authenticity and strength, making sure the product contains the Brazilian propolis markers, such as Artepillin-C, Formononetin, p-coumaric acid, CAPE, etc.

Polyphenols are a class of naturally occurring antioxidant compounds, including flavonoids, phenolic acids, lignans, and stilbenes. Each propolis type offered by NaturaNectar will present a specific composition of polyphenols. For example, Green Bee Propolis is rich in phenolic acids, while Red Bee Propolis contains more flavonoids.  

Bees have evolved to selectively collect resins, rich in polyphenols, such that the resulting propolis presents defense properties for the hive. However, the consumption of polyphenols, not only via propolis, but through a healthy diet, have far reaching benefits to the human body, which is an ongoing research subject in various areas of application.  

This is a difficult question as each propolis presents a different group of polyphenols. For example, Brazilian Green Propolis is rich in phenolic acids, while Red Bee Propolis is rich in flavonoids. Although, they have similar pharmacological properties, but they may act differently within the body in supporting healthy systems.