Bees for development Journal 118 March 2016
Practical Beekeeping
Honey cerate
A pharmacological skin preparation made with beeswax, honey and olive oil Sara Robb, Bath Potions Ltd, 33 Eversleigh Road, London N3 1HY, UK
which means wax. Historically, beeswax, or cera alba, was the wax used, and olive oil the oil of choice in these formulations. The ratio of wax to oil produced a thick ointment used to cover wounds. To the basic blend, selective active ingredients could be added to formulate cerate to treat specific medical problems.
Keywords: Cerate, beeswax, honey, olive oil, recipes, ceratum mellis, value added products The sale of honey can provide a sustainable income for beekeepers living in poor and remote areas. Value-added products made with honey, beeswax and other locally-sourced ingredients can generate further income. Skin preparations made with beeswax and honey sooth skin and facilitate healing and are ideal products to sell at local markets. This article describes one formulation, honey cerate, and includes a recipe for production as well as scientific evidence for its medicinal efficacy.
Cerate has been used as a skin remedy for centuries and recently has experienced a resurgence. A recipe for cerate, which appeared in the 1809 edition of the Royal College of Physicians Pharmacopeia, is shown below left. This formulation calls for nearly equal quantities of beeswax and olive oil, making an extremely stiff preparation. The addition of medicinal ingredients, such as honey, to this basic recipe creates a product that is thinner and easier to apply. Recipes for ceratum mellis, or honey cerate, can be found in medical texts dating back to the 1500s, however these early recipes often contained lead, which is now known to be toxic. This article provides a modern, lead-free recipe and instructions to make a medicinal cerate with honey as the active ingredient.
Cerate Cerate, a pharmacological preparation made with wax, oil or fat, and other medicinal ingredients, has been used for centuries to treat a variety of cutaneous conditions. The name cerate is derived from cera,
Honey as an active ingredient Bee products are valuable ingredients in formulations used to treat skin conditions. Beeswax and honey are emollients and enhance the moisturising properties of topical treatments. Honey is an active ingredient, which imparts a number of healing qualities to skin preparations. Honey contains anti-oxidants, vitamins and minerals. It contains pigmented molecules called polyphenol anti-oxidants. Phenolic compounds give honey their colour. The darker the honey, the higher the level of anti-oxidants. Polyphenol anti-oxidants decrease oxidative stress and neutralise free radicals and chelate iron. As well as having anti-oxidant activity, honey is also anti-bacterial. The anti-bacterial actions of honey are a result of acidity, high osmolarity, production of peroxide, and the presence of the enzyme lysozyme. These characteristics, found in all honey, can help fight infection and promote healing. Honey concentrations between 30% and 70% have been shown to effectively kill polymicrobial human pathogens (see Al-Waili et al 2014 in Further Reading below). The honey concentration in the cerate recipe provided in this article is 40%, well within the range necessary to convey anti-bacterial activity.
Scientific evidence The functional properties of honey are very likely responsible for the effects discussed in the scientific literature evaluating cerate. Honey cerate, the mixture of honey, olive oil, and beeswax, has been evaluated clinically by Al-Waili and his colleagues. The results of these studies have been published in scientific journals.
Recipe for cerate, which appeared in the 1809 edition of the Royal College of Physicians Pharmacopeia
The honey cerate used in the Al-Waili studies contained 3
