Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 16, 2026

Assessing Agrochemical Risk to Mated Honey Bee Queens
Published on: March 3, 2021
Long-Term Administration of Queen Bee Acid (QBA) to Rodents Reduces Anxiety-Like Behavior, Promotes Neuronal Health
Michael J Weiser1, Vivian Grimshaw2, Kelly M Wynalda3
1Translational Biology, DSM Nutritional Products, 4909 Nautilus Court North, Suite 230, Boulder, CO 80301, USA. mike.weiser@dsm.com.
Background:
Queen bee acid (QBA; 10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid) is the predominant fatty acid in royal jelly (RJ) and has activity at estrogen receptors, which affect brain function and body composition. However, few, long-term studies have assessed QBA effects in brain health and body composition.
Methods:
Primary hippocampal neurons were treated with QBA (0-30 µM) and challenged with glutamate or hypoxia. QBA was fed to aged, male Sprague-Dawley rats (12-24 mg/kg/day) and to adult male and female Balb/C mice (30-60 mg/kg/day) for ≥3.5 months. Rats were evaluated in a behavioral test battery of brain function. Mice were measured for fat and muscle composition, as well as bone density.
Results:
QBA increased neuron growth and protected against glutamate challenge and hypoxia challenge. Rats receiving QBA had reduced anxiety-like behavior, increased body weight, and better maintenance of body weight with age. Mice receiving QBA exhibited increased body weight, muscle mass, and adiposity in males, and increased bone density, but decreased adiposity, in females.
Conclusions:
QBA is an active component of RJ that promotes the growth and protection of neurons, reduces anxiety-like phenotypes, and benefits bone, muscle and adipose tissues in a sex-dependent manner, which further implicates estrogen receptors in the effects of QBA.
Related Concept Videos
Composite Bodies
Composite bodies have widespread applications in mechanical engineering, from automobiles to aircraft to rockets. For example, an automobile wheel comprises...
Composition of Body Fluids
Models of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention II
The agent-host-environment model states that disease results...
Levels of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention
In primary prevention, actions taken before disease onset prevent the disease from...
Models of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention I
The health belief model (HBM) attempts to predict health-related behavior in specific belief patterns. According to the HBM, a person's...
Reduced Mass Coordinates: Isolated Two-body Problem

