Propolis heals herpes lesions faster than acyclovir A randomized, single-blind comparative study concluded that the bee product propolis was more effective in the treatment of genital herpes than either placebo or acyclovir, a herpes drug marketed under the trade name Zovirax®. For the study, 90 men and women with recurrent genital herpes were randomly divided into three equal-sized groups and treated with propolis, acyclovir, or placebo ointments. Results were assessed on the third, seventh, and tenth days of treatment. The primary study endpoints were healing time of blisters and time until symptoms disappeared. According to the results, blisters healed significantly faster in people treated with propolis. On day 10 of the study, 24 of 30 people in the propolis group were healed, compared with 14 of 30 in the acyclovir group and 12 out of 30 in the placebo group. Among the 66 percent of women who had vaginal infections in addition to herpes at the initial examination, the incidence of additional infection was reduced by 55 percent after treatment with propolis. No change in vaginal flora was seen in the acyclovir and placebo groups. Vynograd N, Vynograd I, Sosnowski Z. A comparative multi-centre study of the efficacy of propolis, acyclovir and placebo in the treatment of genital herpes (HSV). Phytomedicine 2000; 7(1): 1-6.