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All About Bee Venom: Therapeutic Properties & 7 Uses in Medicine
Contents:
- What is Bee Venom?
- What is Apitherapy?
- History of Bee Venom in Apitherapy
- The Therapeutic Properties of Bee Venom
- Bee Venom as a Treatment for Allergies
- Bee Venom’s Impact on Autoimmune and Neurological Conditions
- Bee Venom for Rheumatism and Arthritis
- Ways to Apply Bee Venom
- Conclusion
- FAQs
Getting stung by a honey bee is no fun, even if you’re a beekeeper well accustomed to it. You have to locate and pull out the stinger, since it’s barbed and stays in your skin, and then you might experience swelling, itchiness, and pain. Bee venom is the cause of this unpleasant experience, but did you know that it also has incredible therapeutic potential? Bee stings have been used for thousands of years to prevent and treat various diseases. It’s been studied for its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and even anti-cancer properties!
In this blog, you’ll learn more about the properties of bee venom and the history of it being used in medicine.
*Information provided in this article and others on The Best Bees Company’s Blog is for educational purposes only and does not substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult a medical professional if you are seeking medical advice, treatment, or diagnoses.*
What is Bee Venom?
Bee venom is a colorless liquid that comes out of bees’ stingers when they sting a perceived threat. Wasps and other stinging insects have different venom. Melittin — a compound composed of 26 amino acids — comprises 40-60% of the dry weight of honey bee venom. This is what is responsible for the pain associated with bee stings. According to various studies, melittin has been shown to have antiviral, antibacterial, and anticancer effects.
In addition to melittin, bee venom contains the peptides apamin and adolapin. Although they act as toxins, these peptides have been shown to possess anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties.
Bee venom also contains phospholipase A2, an enzyme and the root cause of people’s allergic reactions to bee stings. Although it is a major allergen, phospholipase A2 also has been shown to induce protective immune responses against a wide range of diseases including asthma, Parkinson’s disease, and drug-induced organ inflammation.
Bee venom is very resistant to heat and cold, retaining its potency even when exposed to boiling and freezing temperatures. Dehydrated venom also retains its potency. The venom quickly dries and crystallizes when it comes into contact with air.
What is Apitherapy?
Traditional medicine has been historically used worldwide for disease prevention and treatment purposes. Apitherapy is an area of traditional medicine based on the use of bee products, such as honey, pollen, propolis, royal jelly, and bee venom to treat ailments and promote healing. It dates back to 460 BC, where Hippocrates used bee venom via stings on his patients to treat various diseases.
For more information on apitherapy, including the properties and uses of other honey bee products, read our team’s scientific research paper, “Beyond Pollination: Honey Bees as Zootherapy Keystone Species” — also available in the “Published Research” section at the bottom of our Research page!
History of Apitherapy and Using Bee Venom
From ancient times onwards bee venom and bee stings have been used for a wide range of ailments. Hippocrates (ca. 460—370 BC) was the first to record its medical uses. Galen (129—ca. 200 AD), a prominent Greek physician, surgeon, and philosopher in the Roman Empire, mentioned bee venom in many of his numerous treatises on medicine.
Famous rulers, including Charlemange (747—814 AD) and Ivan the Terrible (1530—1584 AD) applied bee stings as a treatment for gout.
In 1859, the first scientific report on the usage of bee stings for rheumatic conditions was published by the French physician Dr. Desjardins. This increased interest in bee venom across the global medical community, and more scientific research was soon to follow. In 1868, Russian physicians Lokumski and Lubarski published a work named “Bee venom, a remedy.” About a decade later, Czech physician and beekeeper Filip Terc started treating rheumatic diseases with bee stings to great success. He was the first to apply bee stings systematically.
In the 1900s, medical understanding of bee venom progressed with several research papers on the treatment of rheumatic fever with bee venom from Rudolph Tertsch. Both he and Filip Terc are considered to be the fathers of modern apitherapy.
Dr. Franz Kretsky from Austria developed the first injectable form of bee venom in 1928. Decades later, in 2003, American physician Dr. Christopher Kim would patent the first standardized form of injectable bee venom in South Korea; he branded it under the name Apitoxin. It is currently awaiting FDA approval in the United States.
The Therapeutic Properties of Bee Venom
THE 6 PROPERTIES OF BEE VENOM:
- Anti-inflammatory
- Anti-cancer
- Pain relieving
- Antioxidant
- Antiviral
- Antibacterial
Bee venom has powerful anti-inflammatory properties. Melittin, its main component, has been shown to reduce inflammation. Melittin causes the itching, pain, and swelling we typically associate with a bee sting, but in small doses, it has potent anti-inflammatory effects.
Melittin has also shown promising potential in the treatment of various types of cancers. In several research studies, it significantly inhibited the growth of cancer cells by stimulating local cellular immune response. Other studies showed melittin causing cell death in cancer cells and inhibiting tumor growth!
In addition to anti-inflammatory activity, bee venom also has antioxidant properties. Multiple studies showed test subjects showing significant improvement in their antioxidant defense systems after undergoing bee venom therapy (BVT).
In 2020, a study reviewing medical literature on bee venom published to the databases PubMed, Clinical Key, and the Cochrane Library was conducted. It found BVT to be an effective treatment for inflammation, pain, arthritis, Parkinson’s disease, and cancer. The researchers did note the need for more controlled clinical trials to confirm its therapeutic mechanisms.
Other studies investigated the antiviral properties of bee venom and melittin. A 2016 study saw BVT protecting mice that were exposed to lethal doses of the influenza virus.
Bee venom is also used in acupuncture. A 2023 literature review of clinical studies conducted on bee venom acupuncture (BVA) for the treatment of neck pain in Korean publications concluded by recommending BVA as an effective treatment method.
When undergoing bee venom treatment, patients’ physical reactions to the bee stings lessened over time as their bodies became accustomed to the sting.
OVERVIEW OF 7 AILMENTS BEE VENOM HAS BEEN USED TO TREAT:
- Inflammation
- Chronic pain
- Rheumatism and arthritis
- Parkinson’s disease
- Cancer
- Skin disorders
- Neurological disorders
Bee Venom as a Treatment for Allergies
To help people with severe allergies to bee stings, the first-line treatment is actually bee venom. Administered by a healthcare professional, venom immunotherapy consists of bee venom injected under the skin. It’s extremely effective and very safe.
Bee venom immunotherapy provides 98-99% protection from reactions to bee stings. Once immunotherapy is stopped, the risk of reaction over the next 5 to 10 years is about 5-15%.
Bee Venom’s Impact on Autoimmune and Neurological Conditions
Studies have shown that bee venom’s phospholipase A2 exerted a neuroprotective activity, which gives it potential for treating Parkinson’s disease and other diseases caused by neuroinflammation like Alzheimer’s disease.
Bee venom’s anti-inflammatory properties have been applied to treat autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and lupus; it restores movement and mobility by strengthening the body’s natural defense mechanism. According to a study by Nam et al., BVT stimulates the body’s immune system.
Bee Venom for Rheumatism and Arthritis
Many studies have found BVT to be a great option for treating rheumatism and arthritis. Christopher Kim conducted a study with 180 randomized patients where they were routinely injected with Apitoxin, purified honey bee venom, over a period of six weeks. The group receiving the bee venom injections reported feeling more pain relief than the control group right after the treatment. After a period of six months, the control group’s pain had returned — and the bee venom group’s hadn’t!
How Bee Venom is Applied
If you consume bee venom for medical purposes, many of its beneficial properties are rendered useless after digestion. Topical and subcutaneous applications are much more effective. BVT can be administered a variety of ways:
- Live bees stinging specific points
- Injecting purified bee venom
- Bee venom ointments, creams, tinctures
Conclusion
It’s amazing how bee venom can cause painful, itchy stings, but also have so many uses to treat such a wide variety of ailments, from arthritis to cancer. It’s been said that beekeepers tend to enjoy greater longevity than most — maybe this is because of the stings they receive while caring for their bees!
FAQs
Q: What is bee venom?
A: It’s is a colorless liquid that bees produce and inject into the skin of a perceived threat by stinging them. The stinger releases the venom.
Q: What is bee venom cream?
A: Bee venom cream is one of the methods used to take advantage of the therapeutic properties of the venom, specifically for skin disorders such as acne.
Q: When were bee stings first used for medicine?
A: Apitherapy is ancient, and mentions of bee stings being used as a medical treatment date back to Ancient Greece and Hippocrates.
Q: Are there risks associated with bee venom therapy?
A: Yes; individuals allergic to bees should undergo venom immunotherapy before trying any bee venom therapies for other ailments.