Royal Jelly and Its Uses

Royal jelly is a white-cream, slightly sour, creamy food secreted by glands in the head of young nurse workers; all larvae are fed on it in their first days, while a larva destined to become a queen receives plenty of royal jelly throughout her development. People take it as a supplement, but the evidence for therapeutic effects is weak. Royal jelly can cause severe allergic reactions, including asthma attacks and anaphylaxis.

What is royal jelly and how is it formed?

Royal jelly (gelée royale, sometimes called queen bee jelly) consists of secretions from the hypopharyngeal glands and the mandibular glands of young nurse bees about one to two weeks old. Nurse bees can only produce this secretion when they eat enough pollen; in other words, the raw material of royal jelly is the colony's pollen store.

• Worker and drone larvae: They are fed on a royal-jelly-like secretion in their first days; then honey and pollen are mixed into their food.
• Queen larvae: They are fed plenty of royal jelly throughout the larval stage; a pool of royal jelly can be seen beneath the larva in a queen cell.

The difference between queen and worker, and a misconception

The queen and the workers develop from the same type of fertilised egg. The great difference between them (the queen living for years and laying hundreds of eggs a day, while a worker lives a few weeks in summer) arises largely from differences in feeding during the larval stage.

This striking fact has earned royal jelly a reputation as a kind of "elixir of youth". However, the fact that a food steers the development of a bee larva does not mean it will have a similar effect in an adult human. This assumption is not supported scientifically.

The composition of royal jelly

Most of the weight of fresh royal jelly is water; the rest consists mainly of proteins, sugars and fats, with smaller amounts of vitamins (especially B vitamins) and minerals.

• Proteins specific to royal jelly: A family of proteins known as the "major royal jelly proteins" makes up a significant part of the product; these proteins are also held responsible for allergic reactions.
• 10-HDA: 10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid, a fatty acid specific to royal jelly, is not found in any other natural product. It is therefore used as a criterion for the authenticity and freshness of the product.

The international royal jelly standard (ISO 12824) requires fresh royal jelly to contain at least 1.4 grams of 10-HDA per 100 grams. The same standard classifies royal jelly produced by giving bees only honey, pollen and nectar separately from that produced with sugar or protein supplementation.

How is royal jelly produced? Step by step

Royal jelly production is based on queen-rearing technique and needs labour, experience and strong colonies.

1. A starter colony is prepared: A strong colony is chosen with plenty of young bees and adequate stores of pollen and honey. The colony is made to feel queenless (it is dequeened, or the queen is separated off with an excluder).
2. Grafting is done: Young worker larvae under a day old are transferred into artificial queen cell cups.
3. The cups are given to the colony: The nurse bees feed the larvae as if they were future queens, filling the cells with royal jelly.
4. Harvest time: About three days after grafting, when the amount of royal jelly in the cells is at its peak, the bar is taken out of the colony.
5. The larvae are removed and the jelly collected: The larvae are carefully picked out; the royal jelly is collected with a small spatula or a vacuum device and passed through a fine strainer.
6. It is chilled at once: The collected royal jelly is put without delay into a dark, airtight container and placed in the cold chain.

How should royal jelly be stored? The cold chain

Royal jelly is very sensitive to heat, light and air. A product whose cold chain has been broken loses its properties even if it looks unchanged, and the consumer cannot see this deterioration.

What is royal jelly good for? The state of the evidence

The composition of royal jelly is known in detail, and various biological effects have been reported in laboratory and animal studies. In humans, however, studies on cholesterol, menopausal symptoms, fatigue or immunity are generally small and short-term, with inconsistent results.

This does not mean the product is worthless; it means there is not a sufficient basis for firm health claims. The general health claims submitted for royal jelly in Europe have not been found to be scientifically substantiated.

Royal jelly allergy: who should not use it?

• First use: Even in people with no history of allergy, a common recommendation is to start with a very small amount.
• Symptoms: If wheezing, shortness of breath, hives or swelling of the lips or tongue occur, stop using it and call the emergency number (112 in Türkiye).
• Children, pregnancy, breastfeeding and medication: Consult a doctor. There are case reports suggesting royal jelly may interact with blood thinners.

The effect of royal jelly production on the colony

Royal jelly production requires the colony to be kept continuously queenless or partly queenless and to consume plenty of pollen. This burden wears the colony down.

• Starter and finisher colonies should be regularly topped up with young bees and frames of brood.
• If the pollen flow is weak, production falls; protein supplementation during such periods affects the product's class under the standard.
• Royal jelly is not collected while varroa treatments are being applied; there is a risk of residues.

Common mistakes

• Leaving collected royal jelly at room temperature for hours.
• Storing it in a clear container with a metal lid.
• Producing from weak colonies or colonies with inadequate pollen stores.
• Using claims such as "rejuvenates" or "treats infertility" in promotion; not including an allergy warning.