Bee Venom and Its Therapeutic Values: A Review

Abstract

Apitherapy is the medicinal therapeutic use of honeybee products, consisting of honey, propolis, royal jelly, pollen, beeswax and, in particular, bee venom. The aims of this paper were to review bee venom and its therapeutic values. Bee venom therapy is the therapy which utilizes the application of bee venom to treat various diseases and it has been used since ancient times in traditional medicine. Bee venom is produced by  the venom gland located in the abdominal cavity and contains several biologically active peptides, including melittin (a major component of BV), apamin, adolapin, mast cell degranulating peptide, and enzymes (phospholipase A2, and hyaluronidase) as well as non-peptide components, such as histamine, dopamine, and norepinephrine. Bee venom has therapeutic values against variety of disease like Arthritis, nervous system diseases, heart and blood System abnormalities and for skin disease. Furthermore, Bee venom has been widely used in the treatment of some immune-related diseases, as well as in recent times in treatment of tumors. Several cancer cells, including renal, lung, liver, prostate, bladder, and mammary cancer cells as well as leukemia cells, can be targets of bee venom peptides such as melittin and phospholipase A2. In order to benefit from the promising role of bee venom therapy research should be extended to identify their specific component and target action.

Keywords: Apitherapy, anticancer, bee venom, bee, melittin