In fake propolis, the admixture of pollen and wax is too high. Such a product is much less useful, but it is not difficult to distinguish it from a high-quality substance.
cut and examine
Propolis is often sold rolled into balls, which should be uniform inside and out. After cutting the ball, you need to carefully consider the color and texture of the substance.
The color of good propolis varies from yellow-green to brown, depending on the type of wood, so you should be well aware of what the species you are judging should be.
The best quality propolis has a light yellow-green or green-brown color, the worst is almost black.
The balls should not contain solid lumps, suspicious impurities, as well as too dark veins that may indicate inclusions of insect particles, plant fragments and other debris. The texture of the fresh substance will be moderately soft.
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Throw into the water
If you lower the product into water, the original substance will immediately sink to the bottom. This will prevent a fake from making too much wax impurity, because of which the fake will stick to the surface.
Ideally, this product should contain no more than 25% of wax impurities, and a substance in which wax is higher than 50% can be called low quality. The benefits of such a “dummy” will be much less, and it can be sold at the price of a good product.
Smell
A genuine product of the vital activity of bees has a specific smell that is difficult to confuse with any other. If you know how propolis smells, it will be difficult to sell you a fake.
Its aroma can be described as coniferous, resinous and balsamic. It resembles incense and contains notes of honey. The smell of propolis is quite strong and durable.
A weak aroma, in which the presence of impurities is felt, betrays a fake.
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try
Photo https://www.instagram.com/p/CIk6zDJn9CX/
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After chewing propolis, you will feel a characteristic sensation of warmth in your mouth. After a few minutes, the heat will turn into a burning sensation - this indicates the normal content of essential oils. There may be a slight numbness of the tongue.
A product with an excessively high wax content will burn your tongue more and also become more bitter, and these sensations will remain for a long time after you take it out of your mouth. Counterfeit does not stick to the teeth at all, while sticking is normal for a natural substance - this confirms its freshness.
Propolis should not crumble quickly. If it breaks up into lumps, then the product is fake, or its shelf life has expired. The natural product crumbles only after half an hour of chewing.
Read also: how to know real honey or not
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When choosing propolis, it is difficult to determine the concentration if it was diluted by unscrupulous sellers. For myself, I decided the question simply - I buy from a trusted beekeeper, my friend.
fake propolis is just a confusing waste of money, there is no longer any benefit from such propolis, they only seem to try to make it so that it does not differ from the original. well, it’s pretty good, judging by the fact that many people buy fake ones, my friends tell me about it
a great opportunity to see the best substance for any person. it’s good that you recommend real propolis to people, now I will understand that how it is and by what signs it is necessary to determine the best propolis, this is important