Royal Jelly

<p><b>Royal jelly</b> is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey_bee" title="Honey bee">honey bee</a> secretion that is used in the nutrition of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larva" title="Larva">larvae</a> and adult <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_bee" title="Queen bee">queens</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_jelly#cite_note-0">[1]</a></sup> It is secreted from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gland" title="Gland">glands</a> in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insect_mouthparts#Hypopharynx" title="Insect mouthparts">hypopharynx</a> of worker bees, and fed to all larvae in the colony.<sup id="cite_ref-Graham_1-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_jelly#cite_note-Graham-1">[2]</a></sup></p>

<p>

When worker bees decide to make a new queen, either because the old one is weakening, or was killed, they choose several small larvae and feed them with copious amounts of royal jelly in specially constructed queen cells. This type of feeding triggers the development of queen morphology, including the fully developed <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ovary" title="Ovary">ovaries</a> needed to lay eggs.<sup id="cite_ref-Maleszka.2C_R_2008_2-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_jelly#cite_note-Maleszka.2C_R_2008-2">[3]</a></sup>

 </p>

<h2>Cultivation</h2>

<p>Royal jelly is secreted from the glands in the heads of worker bees, and is fed to all bee larvae, whether they are destined to become drones (males), workers (sterile females), or queens (fertile females). After three days, the drone and worker larvae are no longer fed with royal jelly, but queen larvae continue to be fed this special substance throughout their development. It is harvested by humans by stimulating colonies with movable frame hives to produce queen bees. Royal jelly is collected from each individual queen cell (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honeycomb" title="Honeycomb">honeycomb</a>) when the queen larvae are about four days old. It is collected from queen cells because these are the only cells in which large amounts are deposited; when royal jelly is fed to worker larvae, it is fed directly to them, and they consume it as it is produced, while the cells of queen larvae are "stocked" with royal jelly much faster than the larvae can consume it. Therefore, only in queen cells is the harvest of royal jelly practical. A well-managed hive during a season of 5–6 months can produce approximately 500 g of royal jelly. Since the product is perishable, producers must have immediate access to proper cold storage (e.g., a household refrigerator or freezer) in which the royal jelly is stored until it is sold or conveyed to a collection centre. Sometimes <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey" title="Honey">honey</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beeswax" title="Beeswax">beeswax</a> are added to the royal jelly, which is thought to aid its preservation.</p>

<h2>Composition</h2>

<p>Royal jelly is collected and sold as a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietary_supplement" title="Dietary supplement">dietary supplement</a> for humans, claiming various health benefits because of components such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B_vitamins" title="B vitamins">B-complex</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin" title="Vitamin">vitamins</a> such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantothenic_acid" title="Pantothenic acid">pantothenic acid</a> (vitamin B<sub>5</sub>) and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_B6" title="Vitamin B6">vitamin B<sub>6</sub></a> (pyridoxine). The overall composition of royal jelly is 67% <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water" title="Water">water</a>, 12.5% crude <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein" title="Protein">protein</a>, including small amounts of many different <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amino_acid" title="Amino acid">amino acids</a>, and 11% simple <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar" title="Sugar">sugars</a> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monosaccharide" title="Monosaccharide">monosaccharides</a>), also including a relatively high amount (5%) of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatty_acid" title="Fatty acid">fatty acids</a>. It also contains many trace <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietary_mineral" title="Dietary mineral">minerals</a>, some <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enzyme" title="Enzyme">enzymes</a>, antibacterial and antibiotic components, and trace amounts of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_C" title="Vitamin C">vitamin C</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-Graham_1-1" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_jelly#cite_note-Graham-1">[2]</a></sup> but none of the fat-soluble vitamins, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retinol" title="Retinol">A</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_d" title="Vitamin d" class="mw-redirect">D</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tocopherol" title="Tocopherol">E</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_K" title="Vitamin K">K</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-urlValue-added_products_from_beekeeping.Chapter_6.3-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_jelly#cite_note-urlValue-added_products_from_beekeeping._Chapter_6.-3">[4]</a></sup></p>

<h3>Royalactin</h3>

<p>The component of royal jelly that causes a bee to develop into a queen appears to be a single protein that has been called royalactin. Jelly which had been rendered inactive by prolonged storage had a fresh addition of each of the components subject to decay and was fed to bees; only jelly laced with royalactin caused the larvae to become queens.<sup id="cite_ref-royalactin_4-0" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_jelly#cite_note-royalactin-4">[5]</a></sup> Royalactin also induces similar phenotypical change in the fruitfly (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drosophila_melanogaster" title="Drosophila melanogaster">Drosophila melanogaster</a>), marked by increased body size and ovary development.</p>

<h2>Epigenetic effects</h2>

<p>The honey bee queens and workers represent one of the most striking examples of environmentally controlled <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenotype" title="Phenotype">phenotypic</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymorphism_%28biology%29" title="Polymorphism (biology)">polymorphism</a>. In spite of their identical clonal nature at the DNA level, they are strongly differentiated across a wide range of characteristics including anatomical and physiological differences, longevity of the queen, and reproductive capacity.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_jelly#cite_note-5">[6]</a></sup> Queens constitute the sexual caste and have large active ovaries, whereas workers have only rudimental inactive ovaries and are functionally sterile. The queen/worker developmental divide is controlled <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epigenetics" title="Epigenetics">epigenetically</a> by differential feeding with royal jelly; this appears to be due specifically to the protein <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_jelly#Royalactin">royalactin</a>. A female larva destined to become a queen is fed large quantities of royal jelly; this triggers a cascade of molecular events resulting in development into a queen.<sup id="cite_ref-Maleszka.2C_R_2008_2-1" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_jelly#cite_note-Maleszka.2C_R_2008-2">[3]</a></sup> It has been shown that this phenomenon is mediated by an epigenetic modification of DNA known as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epigenetics#DNA_methylation_and_chromatin_remodeling" title="Epigenetics">CpG methylation</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_jelly#cite_note-6">[7]</a></sup> Silencing the expression of an enzyme that methylates DNA in newly hatched larvae led to a royal jelly-like effect on the larval developmental trajectory; the majority of individuals with reduced DNA methylation levels emerged as queens with fully developed ovaries. This finding suggests that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA_methylation" title="DNA methylation">DNA methylation</a> in honey bees allows the expression of epigenetic information to be differentially altered by nutritional input.

 </p>

<tr>

<td class="mbox-text">Wikimedia Commons has media related to: <i><b><a class="external text" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Royal_jelly">Royal jelly</a></b></i></td>

</tr>

</tbody></table>

<ul>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bee_pollen" title="Bee pollen" class="mw-redirect">Bee pollen</a></li>

<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bee_propolis" title="Bee propolis" class="mw-redirect">Bee propolis</a></li>

</ul>