Research Article
Effects of Royal Jelly Administration on Lipid Profile,
Satiety, Inflammation, and Antioxidant Capacity in
Asymptomatic Overweight Adults
Ana Petelin,
1
Saša Kenig,
1
Rok KopinI,
2
MatjaD DeDelak,
2
Maša HerneliI Bizjak,
1
and Zala Jenko PraDnikar
1
1
University of Primorska, Faculty of Health Sciences, Polje 42, SI-6310 Izola, Slovenia
2
Medex d.o.o., Linhartova 49A, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Correspondence should be addressed to Zala Jenko Praˇ znikar; zala.praznikar@upr.si
Received 15 April 2019; Revised 15 May 2019; Accepted 26 May 2019; Published 13 June 2019
Academic Editor: Juraj Majtan
Copyright © 2019 Ana Petelin et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License,
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Objectives. Obesity and overweight are chronic disorders of multifactorial origin that are characterized by high oxidative status and
by chronic activation of macrophages in peripheral tissues. Efective therapeutic approaches to lower infammation and oxidative
stress are currently of general interest. Royal jelly (RJ) is a functional food with a broad range of pharmacological activities, mainly
used by healthy individuals or borderline patients to protect themselves against disease onset. Te objective of this randomized,
double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was to investigate the efects of RJ supplementation on metabolic profle and oxidative and
infammatory parameters in asymptomatic overweight adults, considered at an early stage of developing metabolic syndrome.
Material and Methods. Te experimental group (n=30) was given RJ and the control group (n=30) was provided with a placebo for
eight weeks. Anthropometric, biochemical parameters, biomarkers of oxidative stress, and infammation were assessed at baseline,
afer 4 and 8 weeks of the intervention, and afer additional 2 weeks of follow up. Results and Conclusion. Compared with the placebo,
RJ supplementation demonstrated a statistically signifcant decrease in total cholesterol (6.7%; p=0.041) and infammatory marker
C-reactive protein (19%; p=0.027), whereas signifcant increases were observed in anti-infammatory marker adiponectin (34%;
p=0.011), endogenous antioxidants bilirubin (35%; p=0.002) and uric acid (5%; p=0.018), total antioxidant capacity in serum (54%;
p=0.005), and leptin (17%; p=0.025). Te present study demonstrated positive efects of RJ administration on lipid profle, satiety,
infammation, and antioxidant capacity in overweight adults. Terefore, our study supports the benefts of RJ supplementation for
the improvement of human health.
1. Introduction
Te incidence of obesity has been rapidly increasing, and
this condition has become a major public health threat, since
it is strongly linked with increased risk for several diseases
including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and
brain aging [1, 2]. Obesity and overweight are chronic dis-
orders of multifactorial origin that are characterized by high
oxidative status [3] and by chronic activation of macrophages
in peripheral tissues [4, 5]. Activated macrophages yield
unresolved infammation in peripheral organs including the
adipose tissue [4, 6] and liver [7]. Tus far, molecular mech-
anisms underlying obesity and obesity-related metabolic dis-
orders have not been fully clarifed, and efective therapeutic
approaches to lower infammation and oxidative stress are
currently of general interest [8].
In recent years, the consideration of natural products as
anti-infammatory and antioxidative treatments has grown
worldwide. Moreover, natural products are easily obtained
and are relatively safe. Royal jelly (RJ) is a mixture of natural
products secreted from the hypopharyngeal and mandibular
glands of nurse honeybees (Apis mellifera). It is essential for
queen reproduction and larvae development in honeybee
colonies. RJ is now widely used as a dietary supplement and
in cosmetic products [9] and is as a functional food of interest
for the improvement of human health.
RJ contains a specifc combination of water, sugars,
proteins, and lipids and approximately 90% of RJ lipids are
Hindawi
Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Volume 2019, Article ID 4969720, 11 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/4969720