Propolis Spray (Buy 5 propolis sprays and get 1 FREE)

With propolis, the format makes all the difference. These are the questions our naturopaths ask in store before picking one off the shelf.

A good fit if

• You want it for your mouth, gums or throat, which is where most of the evidence is
• You'd rather use a mouthwash or lozenge than swallow a capsule
• You want a standardised extract and understand why that matters with propolis
• You've used it before with no reaction

Check with us first if

• You react to bees, bee products, pollen or tree resins, because propolis is a known allergen.
• You're having cancer treatment. Mouth care is worth talking through with your treating team.
• You're thinking of using it for blood sugar alongside diabetes medicine.
• You're buying for a child. There's no safety data for children.
• You've had contact dermatitis from a skin product before.

• Mouthwash. Best known for: Oral mucositis. The cleanest result in the evidence base. Absorption: Local contact with the oral mucosa rather than systemic absorption. Typical use: The format most of the oral trials actually used.
• Toothpaste, dentifrice or lozenge. Best known for: Plaque and oral bacterial counts. Absorption: Daily oral-hygiene delivery, repeated contact. Typical use: Plaque index improved against negative control across 45 studies.
• Standardised Brazilian green propolis extract. Best known for: A defined, characterised extract rather than a variable raw material. Absorption: Studied at 900 mg a day for 10 days in hospitalised patients. Typical use: The answer to the composition-variability problem, if you want one.
• Tincture. Best known for: The traditional alcohol-extracted liquid. Absorption: No trial in this register specifies a tincture. Typical use: Familiar, but not the studied format.
• Capsules. Best known for: Swallowed propolis for blood sugar and inflammatory markers. Absorption: Systemic rather than local. Typical use: Where the glycaemic evidence sits, rather than the oral evidence.

Reference values. There's no Nutrient Reference Value for propolis, because it's a hive product, not a nutrient.

Typical supplemental range. Trial doses depend on the format. Trials for mouth ulcers during cancer treatment (oral mucositis) used a propolis mouthwash rather than a set milligram dose. A standardised Brazilian green propolis extract was studied at 900 mg a day for 10 days in people in hospital. The blood sugar review pooled 21 randomised trials using different doses, rather than settling on one.

Upper level. None is set, and Australia's permitted ingredients list (Schedule 1) has no daily dose cap for any form of propolis. The one firm number is a purity limit rather than a dose: lead must be no more than 0.001% of the medicine.

Worth knowing. Match the format to the job: mouthwashes, sprays and lozenges for your mouth and throat, and capsules if you're following the research on swallowed propolis. What you need depends on your age, diet and health, so talk to one of our naturopaths.

This list is the part of the page we will not shorten. If any of it applies to you, talk to one of our naturopaths or your doctor before starting.

• Bee, pollen or resin allergy. Propolis is a documented allergen and both mandatory Australian warnings exist for that reason. No cached source quantifies the rate.
• Oral use. Mandatory warning (PROP2): "Warning: Propolis may cause allergic reactions. If irritation or swelling of the mouth or throat occurs, discontinue use."
• Topical use. Mandatory warning (PROP1): "WARNING: Propolis may cause skin irritation. Test before use".
• Lead content. Schedule 1 caps lead at no more than 0.001% of the medicine; lead is a mandatory component of propolis.
• Children. The propolis items carry no age restriction, but no paediatric propolis safety data is held in this register either.
• People with diabetes on medicine. Propolis lowered fasting glucose and HbA1c in pooled trials; discuss before adding it.
• If you take prescription medicines, check with your doctor, pharmacist or our naturopaths before starting.