ArticleScientific reports2018
The terpenes of leaves, pollen, and nectar of thyme (Thymus vulgaris) inhibit growth of bee disease-associated microbes.
Article in Scientific reports, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers.
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Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 46 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of essential oils on foulbrood bacteria and honey bee workers (Frontiers in insect science · 2026Article
- Exploring Eco-Friendly Microbial Strategies for Nosemosis Control in Honeybee.Microorganisms · 2025Review
- Advanced Research on Biological Properties-A Study on the Activity of theInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- The Essential Oil Component Terpinyl Acetate Alters Honey Bee Energy Levels and Foraging Behavior.Insects · 2025Article
- Food as Medicine: A Review of Plant Secondary Metabolites from Pollen, Nectar, and Resin with Health Benefits for Bees.Insects · 2025Review
- In Situ Antimicrobial Properties of Sabinene Hydrate, a Secondary Plant Metabolite.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Article
- Effects of ingested essential oils and propolis extracts on honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) health and gut microbiota.Journal of insect science (Online) · 2023Article
- Do Abiotic Stresses Affect the Aroma of Damask Roses?Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Phytochemicals, antimicrobial, and sporicidal activities of moss, Dicranum polysetum Sw., against certain honey bee bacterial pathogens.Veterinary research communications · 2023Article
- Developing Strategies to Help Bee Colony Resilience in Changing Environments.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2022Review
- Insights into the Role of Natural Products in the Control of the Honey Bee Gut Parasite (Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2022Review
- Article
- Understanding effects of floral products on bee parasites: Mechanisms, synergism, and ecological complexity.International journal for parasitology. Parasites and wildlife · 2022Article
- Modification of light intensity influence essential oils content, composition and antioxidant activity of thyme, marjoram and oregano.Saudi journal of biological sciences · 2021Article
- Article
- Biologically Active Extracts from Different Medicinal Plants Tested as Potential Additives against Bee Pathogens.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Chemical Stimulants and Stressors Impact the Outcome of Virus Infection and Immune Gene Expression in Honey Bees (Frontiers in immunology · 2021Article
- Nectar secretion in a dry habitat: structure of the nectary in two endangered Mexican species ofPeerJ · 2021Article
- An essay on ecosystem availability of Nicotiana glauca graham alkaloids: the honeybees case study.BMC ecology · 2020Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Honey bees are highly prone to infectious diseases, causing colony losses in the worst case. However, they combat diseases through a combination of their innate immune system and social defence behaviours like foraging for health-enhancing plant products (e.g. nectar, pollen and resin). Plant secondary metabolites are not only highly active against bacteria and fungi, they might even enhance selective foraging and feeding decisions in the colony. Here, we tested six major plant terpenes and their corresponding acetates, characterizing six natural Thymus vulgaris chemotypes, for their antimicrobial activity on bacteria associated with European foulbrood. Comparison of the inhibitory activity revealed the highest activity for carvacrol and thymol whereas the acetates mostly did not inhibit bacterial growth. All terpenes and acetates are present in the nectar and pollen of thyme, with pollen containing concentrations higher by several orders of magnitude. The physiological response was tested on forager and freshly emerged bees by means of antennal electroantennography. Both responded much stronger to geraniol and trans-sabinene hydrate compared to carvacrol and thymol. In conclusion, bee-forageable thyme product terpenes (mainly from pollen) yield effective antibiotic activity by reducing the growth of bee disease-associated bacteria and can be detected with different response levels by the honey bees' antennae. This is a further step forward in understanding the complex pathogen-pollinator-plant network.
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