A study carried out at Hodeidah University in 2012 evaluated the causal microbial agents of Upper Respiratory Tract (URT) infections in children and the susceptibility of isolates to antibiotics and propolis as a naturally antimicrobial substance. The efficacy of propolis as a treatment of URT infections in 41 pediatric patients was tested. Seventeen throat swabs of children diagnosed with URT infections showed that 9 of them had positive cultures with Streptococcus pyogenes (52.9 %), followed by 2 Haemophilus influenzae (11.8 %), and 6 isolates of Candida albicans (35.3 %). Furthermore, the antimicrobial activity tests of propolis revealed that all isolates were sensitive as the growth of S. pyogenes, H. influenzae, and C. albicans was inhibited at 200 mg/ml level. The scientists demonstrated that a full relief of both streptococcal and candidal symptoms was reached in a shorter time (2-5 days) than that of individual treatment of each agent. Besides, they concluded that propolis is a valuable support to the treatments for bacterial or yeast throat infections in children.

Reference: Shouny W, Muagam F, Sadik Z, Hamza W, Antimicrobial Activity of Propolis Extract on URT Infections in Pediatric Patients Admitted to Al-Thowrah Hospital, Hodeidah City Yemen, World Journal of Medical Sciences 7 (3): 172-177, 2012.