Bee propolis extract shows promise in scar prevention

Pieces of propolis. Photo by Goldmull via Wikimedia Commons

A natural compound made by Australian bees to seal their hives may help stop scarring in human skin after surgery, injury, and burns, according to researchers from the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia.

In a press release from the university, the scientists say the laboratory finding has “immense potential” for future applications in people with scarring of any severity.

The compound was found in propolis produced by the native stingless bee Tetragonula carbonaria, a black insect up to four millimetres long.

Propolis is a sticky mix of plant resins, beeswax, essential oils, and pollen. It can be scraped from hives by beekeepers.

Stingless bees, commonly known as sugarbag bees, use propolis for their nest construction, predator deterrence, and protection against bee pathogens.

PhD student Lisa Randall and supervisors, including Associate Professor Fraser Russell, Dr. Trong Tran, and Professor Robert Harvey, extracted the compound, called tomentosenol A, from propolis produced by stingless bees, harvested in South East Queensland and injected it into human cells grown in culture plates.

Dr. Randall said the early results were promising enough to proceed to pre-clinical trials.

“The compound not only blocked the signals that were causing scarring, it also encouraged the scar-forming cells to self-destruct. This is what occurs in normal wound healing.”

She said millions of people each year have serious wounds or burns that healed as thick, raised scars, potentially causing lifelong pain and disability.

“Existing treatments such as corticosteroid injections, scar correction surgery, pressure garments, and silicone sheets can have limited effectiveness, so there’s an urgent need for new treatments that are more consistently effective, accessible and tolerable—and directly target the underlying causes.”

Professor Harvey, Associate Dean of Research in UniSC’s School of Health, said the findings were exciting.

“Taken together, these findings firmly establish tomentosenol A as a lead compound to test for anti-scarring activity in models of hypertrophic scarring, as the next step towards human clinical trials,” he said.

The research was supported by the Lucas’ Papaw Foundation.

The study, combined with an earlier paper published in Scientific Reports, follows a $360,000 Advance Queensland Industry Research Fellowship awarded to UniSC organic chemistry academic Dr. Trong Tran to investigate the potential health benefits and applications of propolis.

Key industry partners are Native Beeings, the Australian Native Bee Association, Van Rooyen Group and Sugarbag Bees.

A study published last year, led by PhD student Damon Woods and supervised by Dr. Tran, comprehensively assessed for the first time the quality and chemical diversity of two stingless bee species in the Tetragonula genus.

In that study, approximately 170 raw propolis samples were collected by local beekeepers across the eastern coast of Queensland and New South Wales in 2022 and 2023.

“We found nine distinct propolis types with potent antioxidants, indicating that sugarbag bees—like some honeybees—could contribute to new health products in food, supplements, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals,” Dr. Tran said.