Taiwan Green Propolis | PPLs® Health Supplements

Unique Taiwanese Propolis

The propolis produced in Taiwan is less known to people, but it has its unique characteristics of having neurotrophic activities. Except a few islands in Pacific Ocean, no other place in the world has the same active ingredients as Taiwanese propolis. According to Academician Professor Jen-kun Lin, a scholar who studied propolis in Taiwan, these ingredients named propolins can inhibit the growth of a number of cancer cell lines. Both Dr. Chia-nan Chen, a former R&D Director of NBM, and Dr. Yu-wen Chen of Yilan University, indicated that the antimicrobial ability of Taiwanese propolis is several times that of propolis in other regions. They also proposed a method of grading the quality of Taiwanese propolis by its antioxidant power.

According to the table, green propolis TW-I has the highest total phenolic contents and therefore the best quality. The extensive researches by NBM’s Research team found that Taiwanese green propolis not only has outstanding antioxidant and antibacterial properties, but also neurotrophic activities (Please see the following session) due to specific prenylflavanones contained. These neurotrophic factors can be obtained in high amount by a proprietary extraction technology of NBM.

Propolis Source	Color	Antioxidant Power	Amount of Propolins	Strict Production Control
TW-I	Green	High	Highest	With NBM unique extraction technology
TW-II	Brownish green	Medium Low	Less	Not used by NBM
TW-III	Dark brown	Low	Less	Not used by NBM

Taiwanese Propolis Quality Grade Table

The BEST natural nutrients for
memory enhancement

Researches of Taiwanese Green Propolis Extract

Researchers at NBM found:

Taiwanese green propolis (TGP) contained isoprenylated flavonoids with neurotrophic activities, such as: increasing the survival of neuronal cells, strengthening the growth of neurites, and inducing neural stem cells to differentiate into neurons. Patents of these findings have been granted in many countries and regions. The number of neuronal cells can be as high as 60% of the total nerve cells differentiated, which is twice the number ever obtained by other known technologies.

Different extraction method may lead to extracts with various amounts of active ingredients. In order to obtain the highest amount of active ingredients from TGP, NBM developed a special extraction protocol and the resulted extract by this proprietary method has been trademarked as PPLs® in Taiwan and other countries.

According to the research result by NBM:

The active ingredients in PPLs® are small molecules. They can be easily absorbed into our system. Studies proved that they can pass blood brain barrier (not all small molecules can pass BBB) to enter the brain. Nerve Growth Factors are proteins which belong to large molecules and thus are unable to pass BBB. Proteins can also be degraded by digestive enzymes and lose their effect after oral ingestion.

In all, studies indicated that ” PPLs® Taiwanese Green Propolis Extract” has multiple neurotrophic effects including increasing the survival of nerve cells, inducing differentiation of neural stem cells, enhancing the growth of nerve fibers (neurites) and preventing the damage caused by free radicals.

About Neuron

Honey v.s. Propolis

Different Nutrients

Honey

Honey is a nutritious natural food. According to the literature, honey contains mainly sugar, and a proper amount of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and enzymes. Sugar accounts for 70-80% of honey content, mainly fructose and glucose. Enzymes are mainly secreted by bees in the process of transforming nectar to honey. Honey is one of the natural

foods with the most abundant enzymes. Besides reducing fatigue, each 100 grams of honey contains about 1.2 to 1.5 mg of acetylcholine, which has the effect of enhancing memory. In addition, honey also contains more than 10 kinds of amino acids and other functional ingredients such as lutein.

Propolis

Propolis contains high concentrations of flavonoids, which are the essence of propolis. So far, more than 300 chemical constituents have been identified including flavonoids, terpenes, alcohols, aldehydes, phenols, ethers, organic acids, as well as amino acids, enzymes, vitamins, etc. In recent years, people in

many regions have come to know the various effects of propolis. Its traditional health benefits have been increasingly proven and documented by scientific research. Its potent antimicrobial effect earned it the nickname of”natural antibiotic” and thus it is excellent for promoting wound healing.

Other proven effects include anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, immune strengthening, antiviral properties. Propolis products help alleviate symptoms of colds and sore throats as well.

Different Sources

Honey: derived from the nectar of flower. It’s a food source for bees, and a sweetener for human beings.

WHAT IS HONEY?
Honey is a thick, translucent natural sweetener that is produced through multiple processes by worker bees. Honey is made using the nectar of flowers. Worker bees use their long tubular tongues to suck the nectar from the flower and store it in a honey sac. A honey sac can store between 40 to

70 mg of nectar. To fill up the sac, a worker bee may visit hundreds to thousands of flowers. When the sacs are full, honey bees return to the hive where other indoor bees suck the nectar out of the sac and pass it mouth-to-mouth from bee to bee until its moisture content is reduced to 20%. The bees fan their wings to help evaporate the moisture. The bees use their glandular

secretions which are rich in enzymes to transform the nectar into honey and store it in honeycombs for the winter when food is scarce. When the honeycomb is filled with honey, a bee farmer uses a honey machine to shake the honey off, and dispense it into a container after filtration. This becomes a commercial honey.

Propolis: derived from plant gums and exudates. Bees use propolis as a sealant for their hives.

WHAT IS PROPOLIS?
Propolis is a resin-like substance that honey bees produce by mixing saliva beeswax with collected exudate from tree buds, sap flows, or other sticky botanical sources. Its color varies depending on its botanical sources, with dark brown or green being the most common. The main components of propolis are resin (glue), beeswax and other organic

components. It is used as a sealant for unwanted open spaces in the hive. The most important function of propolis is to prevent diseases and parasites from entering the hive, and to inhibit fungal and bacterial growth. It also mitigates putrefaction within the hive to keep the hive clean.

Unique Extraction Technology

NBM’s proprietary extraction technology can efficiently remove debris, environmental contaminants and unwanted resin and wax in the raw propolis. The active components are enriched and their absorption is increased. With the method, unlike other propolis products, each batch of NBM’s propolis products can be assured to have the highest quality standards.

The chemical composition of propolis is highly variableMainly due to the variability of plant species growing around the hives, seasonality, altitude, and food availability and activity developed during propolis production. These phenomena make quality control of propolis products difficult. An assay method has been developed along with an international renowned propolis researcher.

The Taiwanese green propolis, which is controlled by strict inspection specifications, can be used in a wide range of applications. In addition to health foods, it can be extended to general foods, beverages, and even daily cosmetics. It can exert the antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties of green propolis to maintain good health.

Harvesting Propolis

Every year, NBM’s R&D team spares no effort to wade through waters and mountains and to purchase propolis from contracted farmers all over Taiwan. NBM only purchases propolis of the highest quality. Green propolis is only harvested in summer, so the quantity is limited. Until NBM’s researchers found the extraordinary properties of Taiwan green propolis, people did not realize how unique it was. They are now becoming aware of its value. Bee farmers have started to harvest TGP and sell it at a premium price to buyers including NBM. Fortunately, the bee farmers have appreciated NBM’s contribution to their new business and keep a close relationship with NBM. In turn, NBM can obtain enough propolis to continue researching and developing products using TGP extract as an ingredient. This collaboration helps increase the global recognition of Taiwan’s bee products and industry.

Beehive Boxes

Published Research Papers

Since 2004, we published our research on Taiwanese green propolis in international scientific journals
NBM ranks No.1 in published papers in the field of green propolis research in the world.