Beekeepers as guardians of apitherapeutic knowledge in Estonia, SW Ukraine, and NE Italy.

IF 2.9 2区 医学 Q1 BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine Pub Date : 2025-03-10 DOI:10.1186/s13002-025-00764-6
Raivo Kalle, Nataliya Stryamets, Denisa Lorena Cutuca, Julia Prakofjewa, Edy Fantinato, Ingvar Svanberg, Giulia Mattalia, Renata Sõukand
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Abstract

Background: Bees have been important to people in Europe in many ways. Honey was the only sweetener available for a long time. The introduction of frame hives allowed for the collection of various hive products and better production of honey and wax. Only a few ethnomedicinal studies on apitherapy have been published in Europe, highlighting hive products that are collected, sold, or used by beekeepers. The aim of this article is to provide a general overview of apitherapy practiced by beekeepers in different corners of Europe, namely Estonia, Ukraine, and Italy.

Methods: We analyzed material from field studies conducted in three selected countries. From 2020 to 2024, we interviewed 17 beekeepers in each country. The average beekeeper interviewed was 55 years old, had approximately 45 beehives and approximately 22 years of experience, and did beekeeping as a part-time job. We also made observations at regional fairs and markets, as well as noted products originating from beekeeping in shops and pharmacies.

Results: The most well-known and popular apitherapy products in all three countries were honey, pollen, propolis, and royal jelly. Due to the increasing market demand for health-promoting products, beekeepers have started to enhance their products by mixing beekeeping products into honey, making tinctures, performing bee sting treatments, etc. However, strict regulations prohibit beekeepers from labeling their products with health-promoting information. In addition, a completely new trend has emerged: apitherapy tourism. However, Italian beekeepers did not collect or use specific products made in Ukraine and Estonia, such as dead bee tincture, honeycomb moth larva tincture, and drone brood homogenates, and did not make honey moonshine.

Conclusions: The development of apitherapy in Europe has depended on the development of beehive types, the advancement of beekeeping technology, and new knowledge about the health-giving properties of beekeeping products (promoted in the literature and by institutions). As beekeeping is closely related to market demand, apitherapy tourism has emerged as a completely new economic branch and apitherapy is becoming increasingly important in providing relief from mental health issues. However, this requires an entirely new approach from beekeepers and clients using apitherapy.

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背景:蜜蜂在许多方面对欧洲人都很重要。在很长一段时间里,蜂蜜是唯一的甜味剂。框架蜂巢的引入使人们能够收集各种蜂巢产品,并更好地生产蜂蜜和蜡。欧洲只发表过几篇关于蜂疗的民族医药研究,重点介绍养蜂人收集、出售或使用的蜂巢产品。本文旨在概述欧洲不同角落(即爱沙尼亚、乌克兰和意大利)养蜂人使用的蜂疗方法:我们分析了在三个选定国家进行的实地研究材料。从 2020 年到 2024 年,我们在每个国家采访了 17 位养蜂人。受访的养蜂人平均年龄 55 岁,拥有约 45 个蜂箱和约 22 年的养蜂经验,养蜂是他们的兼职工作。我们还在地区集市和市场进行了观察,并在商店和药店注意到了源自养蜂业的产品:结果:在这三个国家中,最知名、最受欢迎的蜂疗产品是蜂蜜、花粉、蜂胶和蜂王浆。由于市场对促进健康产品的需求不断增加,养蜂人开始通过将养蜂产品混合到蜂蜜中、制作酊剂、进行蜂蜇治疗等方式来改进其产品。然而,严格的法规禁止养蜂人在其产品上标注促进健康的信息。此外,还出现了一种全新的趋势:蜂疗旅游。然而,意大利的养蜂人并没有收集或使用乌克兰和爱沙尼亚生产的特定产品,如死蜂酊、蜂巢蛾幼虫酊剂和无人机育雏匀浆,也没有酿造蜂蜜月光酒:欧洲养蜂疗法的发展取决于蜂箱类型的发展、养蜂技术的进步以及对养蜂产品保健特性的新认识(文献和机构的宣传)。由于养蜂业与市场需求密切相关,蜂疗旅游已成为一个全新的经济分支,而蜂疗在缓解精神健康问题方面正变得越来越重要。然而,这需要养蜂人和使用蜂疗的客户采取全新的方法。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
7.30
自引率
16.70%
发文量
66
审稿时长
>12 weeks
期刊介绍: Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine publishes original research focusing on cultural perceptions of nature and of human and animal health. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine invites research articles, reviews and commentaries concerning the investigations of the inextricable links between human societies and nature, food, and health. Specifically, the journal covers the following topics: ethnobotany, ethnomycology, ethnozoology, ethnoecology (including ethnopedology), ethnogastronomy, ethnomedicine, ethnoveterinary, as well as all related areas in environmental, nutritional, and medical anthropology. Research focusing on the implications that the inclusion of humanistic, cultural, and social dimensions have in understanding the biological word is also welcome, as well as its potential projections in public health-centred, nutritional, and environmental policies.
期刊最新文献
Diversity, management, and uses of edible plants in a Ñäñho community of Southern Querétaro, Mexico. Human-forest interaction of useful plants in the Wof Ayzurish Forest, North Showa Zone, Ethiopia: cultural significance index, conservation, and threats. Not "just necessity"? Two-x-eco-cultural dilemmas and the ethnobiological importance of the informal grannies' markets in Moldova. Beekeepers as guardians of apitherapeutic knowledge in Estonia, SW Ukraine, and NE Italy. Ethnobotanical investigation of medicinal plants utilized by indigenous communities in the Fofa and Toaba sub-districts of the Yem Zone, Central Ethiopian Region.
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