Possible new AIDS treatment

[unixronin]

Never underestimate old folk remedies.  (First pointed out here by nightfalke in schlocktroops)

Comments

This is rife with potential problems, though...

[dakiwiboid.livejournal.com]

Remember the bee crisis of a few years ago? The US bee population was nearly wiped out by bee mites, and is coming back quite slowly. If such a parasitic invasion hit other countries, bang! there goes your miracle cure! And yeah, you do have to worry about standardization of bee and tree sources. This isn't just the mean, nasty old FDA trying to make trouble, it does make a difference. I do hope folks with AIDS aren't going to rush out there and buy up commercial supplies of propolis, because probably propolis products available through health food stores are quite, quite stale by comparison to those used in these trials, not to mention being from the wrong sources.

Re: This is rife with potential problems, though...

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

All valid points, none of which negates the value of the discovery. You'll note what they're trying to do right now is not to figure out how much propolis from what source to administer in what form, but to isolate and identify the active ingredient[s] in the propolis. Once the active engredients are identified, they can probably be synthesized chemically in large quantities, just like none of us actually needs to go find a willow tree and make an infusion of boiled willow bark when we have a headache.