Apitoxin

Apitoxin or bee venom is the venom produced by the honey bee. It is a cytotoxic and hemotoxic bitter colorless liquid containing proteins, which may produce local inflammation. It may have similarities to sea nettle toxin.[1]

Components

Bee venom is a complex mixture of proteins and smaller molecules.

The main component is melittin, which amounts to 52% of venom peptides[2] One of the main allergens is phospholipase A2, which amounts to 12% and is an enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of phospholipids, causing degradation of cell membranes.[3] Adolapin[4] contributes 2–5% of the peptides.[5][6] Further protein components include apamin (2%), a neurotoxin, hyaluronidase (2%), which dilates blood vessels, increasing their permeability and facilitating the spread of the venom,[3] mast cell degranulating peptide (2%), tertiapin, and secapin.[7] Small molecules in bee venom include histamine (0.1–1%), dopamine and noradrenaline.[8]

Research

Mark Crislip, a practicing infectious disease specialist, examined the claims that bee venom can treat arthritis. He was unable to "find a clean, i.e., a non-TCPM based, randomized, placebo-controlled study of bee venom in humans for the treatment [of] arthritis."[9]

Apitoxins are under preliminary research for their potential biological effects, such as in cancer.[10]

See also

References
  1. Czarnetzki BM, Thiele T, Rosenbach T (February 1990). "Evidence for leukotrienes in animal venoms". The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 85 (2): 505–509. doi:10.1016/0091-6749(90)90162-W. PMID 1968071. closed access
  2. Meier J, White J (1995). Clinical toxicology of animal venoms and poisons. CRC Press, Inc. ISBN 0-8493-4489-1.
  3. Burzyńska M, Piasecka-Kwiatkowska D (August 2021). "A Review of Honeybee Venom Allergens and Allergenicity". International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 22 (16): 8371. doi:10.3390/ijms22168371. PMC 8395074. PMID 34445077.
  4. Aufschnaiter A, Kohler V, Khalifa S, Abd El-Wahed A, Du M, El-Seedi H, Büttner S (January 2020). "Apitoxin and Its Components against Cancer, Neurodegeneration and Rheumatoid Arthritis: Limitations and Possibilities". Toxins. 12 (2): 66. doi:10.3390/toxins12020066. PMC 7076873. PMID 31973181.
  5. "Adolapin". Comparative Toxicogenomics Database, MDI Biological Laboratory and North Carolina State University. 24 August 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  6. Benton AW, Morse RA, Stewart JD (October 1963). "Venom Collection from Honey Bees". Science. 142 (3589): 228–230. Bibcode:1963Sci...142..228B. doi:10.1126/science.142.3589.228. PMID 17834840. S2CID 26489746.
  7. UniProt P01501, P01500, Q08169, P01499, P56587, P02852.
  8. Habermann E (July 1972). "Bee and wasp venoms". Science. 177 (4046): 314–322. Bibcode:1972Sci...177..314H. doi:10.1126/science.177.4046.314. PMID 4113805.
  9. Crislip, Mark. "The Beekeeper: Sentinel Chicken?". Science-Based Medicine. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  10. Chaisakul J, Hodgson WC, Kuruppu S, Prasongsook N (2016). "Effects of Animal Venoms and Toxins on Hallmarks of Cancer". Journal of Cancer. 7 (11): 1571–1578. doi:10.7150/jca.15309. PMC 4964142. PMID 27471574.
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