A review on Royal Jelly proteins and peptides

[Display omitted] •Royal Jelly (RJ) is an extremely nutritious functional food eaten by human beings since prehistoric times when they were forest dwellers.•In addition to being nutritional, components in RJ are now understood to influence gene expression by epigenetic effects; they also have been shown to have similar effects in other animal models.•Major Royal Jelly Proteins are responsible for development, caste differentiation, longevity and reproduction in honey bees.•Presence of antibiotic peptides and bioactive compounds qualifies it an efficient nutraceutical. Royal Jelly (RJ) is a nutrient rich substance secreted by the hypopharyngeal glands of young worker bees. Owing to the exceptional biological properties, RJ is used in pharmaceutical, food and cosmetics industries. Several studies vouch that RJ has anti-ageing, antibacterial, anti-fatigue, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antitumor, anti-diabetic and antimutagenic potentials. These activities are mainly attributed to bioactive components it contains. One of the principal bioactive components is Major Royal Jelly Proteins (MRJPs) which is considered to be a major factor in honey bee queen development. In this review, we explore large number of studies that have been undertaken to elucidate the functions and characterization of Royal Jelly proteins and peptides.