Abstract

The phenomenon of resistance of microorganisms to antibiotics is becoming one of the greatest challenges of modern medicine. At the same time, the number of new antibiotics introduced into clinical practice is decreasing. This creates the need to search for new, effective, non-antibiotic methods of combating and preventing infectious diseases. Over the last two decades, there has been renewed interest in the antimicrobial potential of natural products, including bee products. The object of my interest were two less known bee products – bee pollen and bee bread, mainly the antimicrobial activity of these products. The results I obtained are very promising. The high activity of ethanolic extracts of bee pollen and bee bread, as well as the products themselves, has been demonstrated to combat dangerous pathogens (e.g., Staphylococcus aureus) of humans and animals. The important role of proteinaceous substances (mainly bee-derived peptides and enzymes) in the antimicrobial activity of these products has been confirmed. It was also found that a significant percentage of bacterial strains isolated from pollen and bee bread (mainly Bacillus spp.) have a high probiotic potential and the ability to synthesize metabolites that effectively inhibit the development of pathogenic bacteria. The results of the research were presented in the form of four scientific publications.

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