The Effects of Royal Jelly on the Pro-Inflammatory Innate Immunity Cytokines in Patients Infected with Hepatitis B Virus and Its Antiviral Activity

Innate immunity cytokines conduct significant functions in the stimulation and induction of liver complications in Hepatitis B infected patients. It has been reported that Royal Jelly (RJ) has important roles in decreasing the pro-inflammatory cytokines in both in vitro and in vivo conditions. This project aimed to investigate the impacts of 1 month RJ administration on interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and interleukin 6 (IL-6) serum levels in the Hepatitis B patients. In this research, 30 Hepatitis B cases (patients) were entered in order to be under the treatment of RJ for 1 month. Before and after treatment with RJ, Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) copy numbers were evaluated using Real-Time PCR and IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6 serum levels were evaluated using the ELISA technique. The RJ treatment significantly reduced the number of HBV-DNA copies and led to down-regulation of TNF-α and IL-6, which were not substantial. The IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6 serum levels were not changed after RJ treatment in both men and women. Based on the findings of the present study, it seems that RJ plays anti-viral and anti-inflammatory roles in the in vivo conditions in infected patients with HBV.