Propolis is a bee product, like honey and royal jelly, that has been used as medicine since ancient times. As a supplement it has been studied for blood sugar, liver enzymes and inflammation, and it is also used in some cosmetics.
Also known as: bee propolis, bee glue, Brazilian green propolis.
There is no intake value. The trials in the meta-analyses used different products and amounts.
It is sold in the US as a dietary supplement. Under the 1994 dietary supplement law (DSHEA), FDA does not approve dietary supplements before they are marketed, and the maker, not FDA, is responsible for safety and labeling.
What studies show: a 2024 meta-analysis of 21 trials found that propolis lowered fasting blood sugar (by about 10 mg/dL), HbA1c (by about 0.5 percentage points), insulin and the liver enzymes ALT and AST; the authors say longer, high-quality trials are needed (Adeli 2024). Another 2024 meta-analysis of 20 trials (1,139 people) found lower levels of the inflammatory markers IL-6 and TNF-alpha, but no overall change in CRP, and called for more high-quality studies (Zhong-Yong 2024).
Safety: propolis can cause allergic contact dermatitis (a skin allergy). A 2026 review of patch-test studies says propolis in cosmetics is an uncommon cause, and many positive tests may be cross-reactions in people already allergic to fragrances (de Groot 2026). The sources here do not describe drug interactions.
We could not find a single published half-life or time to peak for propolis that applies to a supplement dose, so we do not list one. Plant and bee products are mixtures of many compounds, so no single figure would describe them.
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