Creating the Equivalence Index to Optimize the Precise Evaluation of Bee Products for Functionally Opposite Components

TL;DR

This paper introduces the Equivalence Index, a mathematical model to better evaluate bee products with conflicting health effects.

Contribution

The novel Equivalence Index addresses functionally opposite components in bee products for precise evaluation.

Findings

Bee products contain functionally opposite components affecting blood sugar and oxidative stress.

The Equivalence Index offers a way to optimize quality evaluation and processing of bee products.

This model can help determine mechanisms and guide processing for bee product applications.

Abstract

Bee products, such as honey, bee pollen/bread, bee propolis and royal jelly foraged or secreted by honeybee workers, have been consumed by humans for many years and are important due to their complexity, the large number of them and the endemicity of their constituents. The health-promoting activities of bee products are widely documented all around the world. However, we have noticed a distinct but poorly described feature of bee products: groups of functionally opposite components (FOCs) related to blood sugar level, oxidative stress, cell membrane cholesterol distribution, cell membrane stability, cell membrane curvature, allergic reaction, cellular sodium influx and cardiac apoptosis that exist within these products. We then propose the Equivalence Index in order to overcome the challenges associated with FOCs; this is a concise mathematical model that can be used to optimize the evaluation of quality, determine any underlying mechanisms and provide processing guidance regarding bee products.

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