Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 4 complete abstracts (724 words), 10 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
A plastic substance deposited by insects or obtained from plants. Waxes are esters of various fatty acids with higher, usually monohydric alcohols. The wax of pharmacy is principally yellow wax (beeswax), the material of which honeycomb is made. It consists chiefly of cerotic acid and myricin and is used in making ointments, cerates, etc. (Dorland, 27th ed)
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Lipids
- Narrower topics
- Lanolin
- See also
- Cerumen; Inlay Casting Wax
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 5,239 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Waxes” (counts retrieved 2026-10-31). 1,026 of them (19.6%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is through 1999 with 2,100 records.
Reviews account for 201 records (3.8%) and meta-analyses for 7. Randomized controlled trials number 79 (1.5%) as a share of all records on the topic. Randomized trials make up only a small share of this literature, so much of what is known comes from laboratory, observational or descriptive work.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 2,100 |
| 2000-2009 | 861 |
| 2010-2019 | 1,252 |
| 2020 onward | 1,026 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 201 | 3.8% |
| Meta-analyses | 7 | 0.1% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 79 | 1.5% |
Method: PubMed query "Waxes"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-10-31.
Reading the evidence in drugs and chemicals
Studies of a chemical or drug can answer very different questions: what it is and how it behaves in cells and animals, how the body handles it, and whether it changes outcomes in people. Laboratory and animal findings often do not carry over to patients, and observational studies of exposures are confounded by who uses a substance and why. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to use, avoid, start or stop any substance or medicine; talk to a qualified clinician or pharmacist about your own situation. Check the dose, the species, the comparison group and whether a patient-relevant outcome was measured.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
| Study / authors | Year | Source label / design | Europe PMC citations | Licence / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Update on Cuticular Wax Biosynthesis and Its Roles in Plant Disease Resistance | 2020 | Review article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 82 | cc by PMID 32752176 · DOI · PMC7432125 |
| Rice OsGL1-6 is involved in leaf cuticular wax accumulation and drought resistance | 2013 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 73 | cc by PMID 23741473 · DOI · PMC3669293 |
| Pesticides for apicultural and/or agricultural application found in Belgian honey bee wax combs | 2015 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 61 | cc by PMID 25749505 · DOI · PMC4391733 |
| Mixed Waste Streams for Bioproduction: Exploring Bacterial Wax Ester Production in Nitrogen-Rich Acidogenic Fermentate | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 1 | cc by PMID 41697724 · DOI · PMC12908686 |
Update on Cuticular Wax Biosynthesis and Its Roles in Plant Disease Resistance [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- The aerial surface of higher plants is covered by a hydrophobic layer of cuticular waxes to protect plant tissues against enormous environmental challenges including the infection of various pathogens.
- Closing excerpt
- In this review, we summarized the recent progress in the molecular biology of cuticular wax biosynthesis and highlighted its multiple roles in plant disease resistance against bacterial, fungal, and insect pathogens.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (134 words)
The aerial surface of higher plants is covered by a hydrophobic layer of cuticular waxes to protect plant tissues against enormous environmental challenges including the infection of various pathogens. As the first contact site between plants and pathogens, the layer of cuticular waxes could function as a plant physical barrier that limits the entry of pathogens, acts as a reservoir of signals to trigger plant defense responses, and even gives cues exploited by pathogens to initiate their infection processes. Past decades have seen unprecedented proceedings in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the biosynthesis of plant cuticular waxes and their functions regulating plant-pathogen interactions. In this review, we summarized the recent progress in the molecular biology of cuticular wax biosynthesis and highlighted its multiple roles in plant disease resistance against bacterial, fungal, and insect pathogens.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 32752176 · DOI · PMC7432125
Rice OsGL1-6 is involved in leaf cuticular wax accumulation and drought resistance [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Cuticular wax is a class of organic compounds that comprises the outermost layer of plant surfaces.
- Closing excerpt
- We propose that OsGL1-6 is involved in the accumulation of leaf cuticular wax and directly impacts drought resistance in rice.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (256 words)
Cuticular wax is a class of organic compounds that comprises the outermost layer of plant surfaces. Plant cuticular wax, the last barrier of self-defense, plays an important role in plant growth and development. The OsGL1-6 gene, a member of the fatty aldehyde decarbonylase gene family, is highly homologous to Arabidopsis CER1, which is involved in cuticular wax biosynthesis. However, whether OsGL1-6 participates in cuticular wax biosynthesis remains unknown. In this study, an OsGL1-6 antisense-RNA vector driven by its own promoter was constructed and introduced into the rice variety Zhonghua11 by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation to obtain several independent transgenic plants with decreased OsGL1-6 expression. These OsGL1-6 antisense-RNA transgenic plants showed droopy leaves at the booting stage, significantly decreased leaf cuticular wax deposition, thinner cuticle membrane, increased chlorophyll leaching and water loss rates, and enhanced drought sensitivity. The OsGL1-6 gene was constitutively expressed in all examined organs and was very highly expressed in leaf epidermal cells and vascular bundles. The transient expression of OsGL1-6-GFP fusion indicated that OsGL1-6 is localized in the endoplasmic reticulum. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the wax composition using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry revealed a significantly reduced total cuticular wax load on the leaf blades of the OsGL1-6 antisense-RNA transgenic plants as well as markedly decreased alkane and aldehyde contents. Their primary alcohol contents increased significantly compared with those in the wild type plants, suggesting that OsGL1-6 is associated with the decarbonylation pathways in wax biosynthesis. We propose that OsGL1-6 is involved in the accumulation of leaf cuticular wax and directly impacts drought resistance in rice.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 23741473 · DOI · PMC3669293
Pesticides for apicultural and/or agricultural application found in Belgian honey bee wax combs [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- In a Belgian pilot study honey bee wax combs from ten hives were analyzed on the presence of almost 300 organochlorine and organophosphorous compounds by LC-MS/MS and GC-MS/MS.
- Closing excerpt
- DEET, propargite and bromophos.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (142 words)
In a Belgian pilot study honey bee wax combs from ten hives were analyzed on the presence of almost 300 organochlorine and organophosphorous compounds by LC-MS/MS and GC-MS/MS. Traces of 18 pesticides were found and not a single sample was free of residues. The number of residues found per sample ranged from 3 to 13, and the pesticides found could be categorized as (1) pesticides for solely apicultural (veterinary) application, (2) pesticides for solely agricultural (crop protection) application, (3) pesticides for mixed agricultural and apicultural (veterinary) application. The frequencies and quantities of some environmental pollutants bear us high concerns. Most alarming was the detection of lindane (gamma-HCH) and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (including its breakdown product dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene), two insecticides that are banned in Europe. The present comprehensive residue analysis, however, also reveals residues of pesticides never found in beeswax before, i.e. DEET, propargite and bromophos.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 25749505 · DOI · PMC4391733
Mixed Waste Streams for Bioproduction: Exploring Bacterial Wax Ester Production in Nitrogen-Rich Acidogenic Fermentate [4]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Microbial lipids offer a promising alternative to petrochemicals, but high associated costs and low conversion efficiencies pose barriers to their commercialisation.
- Closing excerpt
- In synthetic media, WE titres up to 190 mg/L were achieved, but translation to fermentate was challenging, emphasising the need for continued research in this area.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (192 words)
Microbial lipids offer a promising alternative to petrochemicals, but high associated costs and low conversion efficiencies pose barriers to their commercialisation. In particular, sugar-based feedstocks are too expensive for the production of commodity chemicals, and recently attention has turned to volatile fatty acids (VFAs) as a cheaper, more widely available carbon source. Acidogenic fermentation can be used to produce high concentrations of VFAs from municipal and agricultural waste. By harnessing metabolically engineered Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1, the suitability of VFAs as sole carbon sources for wax ester (WE) production was investigated. These studies resulted in the highest WE accumulation in ADP1 achieved to date, at 37% of cell dry weight, and the first reported production of bacterial WEs from a raw, mixed waste stream, utilising fermentate as the sole carbon source. WE titres of over 160 mg/L from VFAs were achieved, highlighting the unique benefits of mixed feedstocks typically considered problematic for bioproduction. Finally, the potential advantages of employing fermentates rich in longer chain VFAs are explored. In synthetic media, WE titres up to 190 mg/L were achieved, but translation to fermentate was challenging, emphasising the need for continued research in this area.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 41697724 · DOI · PMC12908686
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article Sealing plant surfaces: cuticular wax formation by epidermal cells [5]
- Research article Biosynthesis and secretion of plant cuticular wax [6]
- Research article The effects of stress on plant cuticular waxes [7]
- Research article Plant cuticles shine: advances in wax biosynthesis and export [8]
- Research article Arabidopsis cuticular waxes: advances in synthesis, export and regulation [9]
- Research article Wax biosynthesis in response to danger: its regulation upon abiotic and biotic stress [10]
References
- Wang X, Kong L, Zhi P, Chang C. Update on Cuticular Wax Biosynthesis and Its Roles in Plant Disease Resistance. . 2020. PMID 32752176 · DOI · PMC7432125
- Zhou L, Ni E, Yang J, Zhou H, Liang H, Li J, et al.. Rice OsGL1-6 is involved in leaf cuticular wax accumulation and drought resistance. . 2013. PMID 23741473 · DOI · PMC3669293
- Ravoet J, Reybroeck W, de Graaf DC. Pesticides for apicultural and/or agricultural application found in Belgian honey bee wax combs. . 2015. PMID 25749505 · DOI · PMC4391733
- Martin LK, Huang WE, Thompson IP. Mixed Waste Streams for Bioproduction: Exploring Bacterial Wax Ester Production in Nitrogen-Rich Acidogenic Fermentate. . 2026. PMID 41697724 · DOI · PMC12908686
- Samuels L, Kunst L, Jetter R. Sealing plant surfaces: cuticular wax formation by epidermal cells. Annu Rev Plant Biol. 2008. PMID 18251711 · DOI
- Kunst L, Samuels AL. Biosynthesis and secretion of plant cuticular wax. Prog Lipid Res. 2003. PMID 12467640 · DOI
- Shepherd T, Wynne Griffiths D. The effects of stress on plant cuticular waxes. New Phytol. 2006. PMID 16866954 · DOI
- Kunst L, Samuels L. Plant cuticles shine: advances in wax biosynthesis and export. Curr Opin Plant Biol. 2009. PMID 19864175 · DOI
- Bernard A, Joubès J. Arabidopsis cuticular waxes: advances in synthesis, export and regulation. Prog Lipid Res. 2013. PMID 23103356 · DOI
- Lewandowska M, Keyl A, Feussner I. Wax biosynthesis in response to danger: its regulation upon abiotic and biotic stress. New Phytol. 2020. PMID 32242934 · DOI
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-10-31; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-10-31.
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Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.