Trace and mineral elements in royal jelly and homeostatic effects

In the honey samples, trace and mineral element concentrations strongly depended on botanical and geological origin, and substantial variation was found. In contrast, the concentrations of trace and mineral elements were highly constant in the associated royal jelly samples. The most important results were the homeostatic adjustments of trace and mineral element concentrations in royal jelly. This effect was evidently produced in the endocrine glands of nurse bees, which are adapted for needs of bee larvae. In conclusion, this research yielded a surprising and completely new finding - that royal jelly, as a form of lactation on the insect level, shows the same homeostatic adjustment as mammalian and human breast milk.