Description

Cera flava, yellow beeswax, is the natural polyester wax secreted by worker honeybees of the genus Apis from specialised abdominal glands, used to construct the hexagonal honeycomb cells of the hive. Composed primarily of palmitates, palmitoleates, hydroxypalmitates, and olein wax esters, yellow beeswax has been used as a pharmaceutical and cosmetic excipient for over five thousand years — documented in ancient Egyptian cosmetic preparations and in the Ebers Papyrus for medicinal formulations. In Ayurvedic pharmacy, Madhuchishtha (beeswax) is cited in the Charaka Samhita and Sushruta Samhita as a primary ingredient in Malham (ointment), Lepa (external paste), and wound-care preparations. In India, beeswax is collected primarily from Apis cerana and Apis dorsata hives across Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and the Northeast.