Feng La
StarApis cerana Fabricius; Apis mellifera Linnaeus
Traditionally used for
- Bowel health
- Skin
Cautions & contraindications
- Young children
☯ TCM Properties
Resolves Toxicity; Promotes Tissue Regeneration and Heals Sores; Alleviates Pain; Stops Dysentery; Stops Bleeding
Traditional Chinese Uses
Feng La (beeswax) is a neutral substance used in Chinese medicine primarily as a topical remedy for wounds, ulcers, burns, and skin conditions that are slow to heal. It draws out toxins, promotes the generation of new tissue, and relieves pain when applied to damaged skin. Historical internal use in small amounts for dysentery and diarrhea has been largely superseded by modern practice, which focuses on its well-established external applications in ointments, plasters, and wound-healing preparations.
Relationships
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Botanical Description
Feng La is beeswax, the secretion of worker honey bees of Apis cerana (the Asian honey bee, the species used in classical Chinese apiculture) and Apis mellifera. It is produced by paired wax glands on the ventral abdomen of young workers and moulded into the hexagonal cells of the honeycomb. Crude wax recovered from melted, strained combs is pale to deep yellow, becoming nearly white on bleaching, with a faint honey-like odour and a mildly aromatic taste. The material is a plastic solid at room temperature, softening at about 35 C and melting between 62-65 C, insoluble in water but soluble in warm oils and most organic solvents. Chemically it is a complex mixture of long-chain monoesters of fatty acids and alcohols, free fatty acids, hydrocarbons and minor amounts of pollen and propolis residues.
Active Constituents
Wax monoesters (chiefly palmitate esters of long-chain alcohols, such as triacontanyl palmitate)
Long-chain wax monoesterThe largest single compound class in beeswax and the main determinant of its melting behaviour and plasticity. Methyl palmitate dominates the derivatised monoester fraction on gas chromatography, at 8.46 to 28.66% depending on sample. These esters are essentially unabsorbed from the gut and are the reason beeswax behaves as an inert matrix rather than a systemically active drug.
Hydrocarbons (n-alkanes and alkenes, chiefly heptacosane)
Saturated and unsaturated long-chain hydrocarbonConcentration: heptacosane, the most abundant single hydrocarbon, at 14.9 to 27.2% of the hydrocarbon fraction; 2-methyloctacosane about 9%
The hydrocarbon fraction gives the wax its water-repellent and plasticising properties. Unsaturated hydrocarbons act as plasticisers in the comb. This fraction is where the clearest species difference sits: Apis cerana wax is relatively enriched in shorter-chain hydrocarbons compared with Apis mellifera wax.
Free fatty acids (chiefly palmitic and cerotic acid)
Long-chain saturated fatty acidConcentration: expressed as acid value, 18.1 to 19.5 mg KOH/g in Apis mellifera wax versus only 6.3 to 8.3 mg KOH/g in Apis cerana wax
The free acid fraction is markedly lower in Apis cerana wax than in Apis mellifera wax, with a correspondingly higher saponification and ester value. This is the most reproducible chemical difference between the two source species named for this drug, and it is the basis on which authenticated Cera Flava can be assigned to a species.
Free long-chain aliphatic alcohols (triacontanol, tetracosanol and homologues)
Long-chain primary fatty alcoholA minor fraction of crude beeswax, but the one of pharmacological interest: it is the fraction enriched and purified to make the Cuban preparation D-002, on which essentially all of the clinical evidence attached to beeswax rests. Crude Cera Flava is not D-002 and the trial results below should not be transferred to it.
Hydroxymonoesters, diesters and hydroxypolyesters
Hydroxylated and polymeric wax esterThe higher-molecular-weight ester classes visible on thin-layer chromatography of authentic beeswax. Their presence in the expected pattern is one of the identity checks that distinguishes real beeswax from a paraffin-adulterated sample.
Propolis and pollen residues
Plant-derived resin and pollen contaminantNot a constituent of beeswax proper but a near-universal contaminant of crude comb wax. Propolis is the substance responsible for most allergic reactions attributed to beeswax, and pollen and royal jelly residues carry the protein load relevant to bee-product hypersensitivity. Refining reduces but does not necessarily eliminate them.
⚠ Drug Interactions
Adrenaline autoinjector users and other patients with known bee-product or Hymenoptera venom allergy
Beeswax as a chemical class is essentially non-antigenic; the reactions attributed to it are largely driven by contaminating propolis, and to a lesser extent by pollen and residual bee protein in crude comb wax. Allergic contact dermatitis to propolis-contaminated beeswax in cosmetics is well documented, and airborne allergic contact dermatitis has been described in a beekeeper exposed to both. In a patient already sensitised to bee venom or bee products, crude Cera Flava is a plausible route of re-exposure to the protein fraction. Apis cerana products carry the same risk as Apis mellifera products; species does not mitigate it.
Clinical note: Ask about bee sting reactions, propolis allergy and reactions to lip balms or ointments before prescribing beeswax internally or topically. Use refined, deproteinised white or yellow wax rather than raw comb wax in any patient with an atopic or bee-related history, and never in a patient with a history of systemic reaction to bee products.
Honey (Feng Mi, Mel) contamination of raw comb wax, in infants under 12 months
Honey is an established vehicle for Clostridium botulinum spores and is contraindicated in infants under twelve months, whose gut flora does not yet suppress germination. Beeswax itself is not honey and carries no such warning, but raw comb wax as harvested is wet with residual honey, and Cera Flava is prepared by melting and straining comb. The contraindication follows the honey residue, not the wax. Note that the honey warning belongs to the separate drug Feng Mi and should not be silently transferred to Cera Flava as a general property of beeswax.
Clinical note: Do not give raw or crudely rendered comb wax, or anything prepared with unheated honey residue, to a child under one year. Refined pharmaceutical-grade beeswax used as an excipient does not carry this risk.
Paraffin wax and stearic acid (adulterants of commercial beeswax)
Adulteration of commercial beeswax is common and quantified: in an ATR-IR survey, paraffin accounted for 74% of detected adulteration and stearic acid for 26%, with 27% of commercial beeswax products such as candles, pearls and blocks adulterated versus 12.5% of honeycomb-type samples. Paraffin is detectable down to roughly 5% and stearic acid down to about 1% by infrared spectroscopy with principal component analysis. A paraffin-cut sample looks and melts much like beeswax, so visual inspection will not catch it.
Clinical note: Source Cera Flava from suppliers who can provide infrared or chromatographic identity data, and prefer honeycomb-derived material over rendered blocks and pearls. Authentic beeswax melts at roughly 62 to 65 degrees Celsius; a markedly lower or broader melting range suggests adulteration.
Piroxicam and other NSAIDs
The refined beeswax alcohol preparation D-002 has been reported to reduce gastrointestinal symptom scores in patients taking piroxicam and in NSAID-related gastric injury models. All of this evidence comes from a single Cuban research group affiliated with the manufacturer, has not been independently replicated, and concerns a purified higher-aliphatic-alcohol fraction rather than crude Cera Flava. It should not be presented to a patient as a reason to expect gastric protection from beeswax.
Clinical note: Do not rely on beeswax for NSAID gastroprotection. Use a proton pump inhibitor where gastroprotection is indicated.
Dosage
| Form | Amount | Frequency | Duration | Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| topical | See note — route-specific dosing | Daily | — | — | 中国药典 2020 【用法与用量】外用适量，熔化敷患处；常作成药赋型剂及油膏基质。 【性味与归经】甘，微温。归脾经。 — Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2020, quoted verbatim; route and cautions preserved. Replaces a cleared category-filler value. |
Evidence Tier
Moderate evidence · 2 studiesRecorded studies by study design, strongest design at the top. This is a study-design tier only, not a GRADE rating: it does not weigh risk of bias, consistency or precision.
Systematic review / meta-analysis
0
Randomized controlled trial
2
2 verified · 0 unverified
Other clinical trial
0
Observational / case report
0
In vitro / animal
0
Other / unclassified
0
Verified: design read from PubMed for a DOI that resolves to the cited paper Unverified: taken from the study's recorded description
Clinical Studies
Effects of D-002, a Product Isolated from Beeswax, on Gastric Symptoms of Patients with Osteoarthritis Treated with Piroxicam: A Pilot Study
Fifty-nine osteoarthritis patients all taking piroxicam 20 mg daily were randomised to placebo or D-002 at 40 or 100 mg daily for 14 days, with gastrointestinal symptom scores as the outcome. The active arms reported fewer gastric symptoms. The agent is D-002, a purified mixture of higher aliphatic alcohols isolated from beeswax, not crude Cera Flava; the trial is small and short; and it comes from the Cuban group associated with the manufacturer, as does the whole D-002 literature.
Evaluation of the effect of D-002, a mixture of beeswax alcohols, on osteoarthritis symptoms
A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of D-002 50 mg daily for eight weeks in osteoarthritis, with the total WOMAC score as the primary outcome and pain, stiffness, physical function and rescue-medication use as secondary outcomes. The same caveats apply: the tested substance is a refined beeswax alcohol fraction rather than the crude wax, and the investigator group is the manufacturer-affiliated Cuban team responsible for essentially all D-002 trials, with no independent replication.
Historical Texts
Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing
Han dynastyBen Cao Gang Mu
Ming dynasty, 1596References
- Aman Dekebo, Chuleui Jung. Chemical Composition and Physicochemical Properties of Beeswaxes of Apis mellifera and Apis cerana . Journal of Apiculture (2023) [DOI]
- Konstantinos Chatzipanagis, Jone Omar, Ana Boix Sanfeliu. Assessment of Beeswax Adulteration by Paraffin and Stearic Acid Using ATR-IR Spectroscopy and Multivariate Statistics—An Analytical Method to Detect Fraud . Foods (2024) [DOI]
- Anton C. de Groot, Norbertus A. Ipenburg, Thomas Rustemeyer. Propolis and Beeswax in Cosmetics: A Market Survey and Literature Review on Their Relationship and Role in Allergic Contact Dermatitis . Contact Dermatitis (2026) [DOI]
This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before using any herbal remedy, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or taking medications.
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