Bee Venom Introduction: BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS AND RESEARCH

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Bee Venom IntroductionBIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS
AND RESEARCH
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Bee Anatomy
Fig 2. Anatomy of abdomen1
Fig 1. Anatomy of Apis mellifera
1 Winston, L. M. The Biology of the Honey Bee
(First Harvard Press, 1987).
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Insect Sting
Injection of up to 100 ?g protein (or 0.10 mg
or 0.0001 gram)
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Bee Venom

• Applications in the field of medicine
• Basic protein research using venom

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Venom manufacturing for bee sting allergies is
now funding research on other medical
applications for venom products.
NEW DIRECTIONS
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Folk remedies and anecdotal reports suggest that
honey bee venom has beneficial effects for
patients with
Biomedical Applications
Multiple SclerosisArthritisInfectious Diseases
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1. Does Honey Bee Venom (HBV) have useful
antimicrobial activity? 2. Can the activity
be separated from its toxic components?
RESEARCH FOCUS
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Synergy with Antibiotics
Normal Bacterial Growth
HBV only
Penicillin only
Optical Density
With Penicillin and HBV
Time
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Honey Bee Venom Composition

• Hyaluronidase

• Phospholipase

• Melittin

• Low Molecular Weight Compounds

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Honey Bee Venom Sac Dissection
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Venom Isolation

• 1. Sac dissection
• 2. Tissue grinding
• 3. Centrifugation to remove tissue
• 4. Filter to remove smaller particles
• 5. Lyophilization
• 6. Protein separations
• Chromatography
• Electrophoresis

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Chromatography Honeybee Venom Sample 20mg/mL
Melittin
Phospholipase
???????
Hyaluronidase
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Electrophoresis
Honey Bee Venom contains relatively few proteins
Yellow Jacket and Hornet venoms are more complex