Bee Venom Against Diabetes, Asthma, Cancer and COVID-19?
Bee venom is a biotoxin which can cause severe allergic reactions in some people due to the excessive stress response of the immune system. At the same time, bee venom and its main polypeptide component melttin, are linked, similar to expensive chemotherapeutic agents, to variety of cancer management effects including apoptosis, necrosis, cytotoxicity and mitochondrial disruption, inhibition of angiogenesis, metastasis and invasion of cancer cells, including prostate, breast, lung, liver and bladder.
Bee venom therapy, has also been used in traditional medicine to treat diseases such as arthritis, diabetes, rheumatism, pain, tumors, and skin diseases.
Melittin, is a non-selective cytolytic peptide which binds to negatively charged phospholipid bilayers membrane surfaces and therefore, physically and chemically disrupts all prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell membranes including our red blood cells, hence its biotoxic effect.
New research published by an international team of scientists proposes the use of bee venom as a potential adjuvant against COVID-19. The authors indicate the potential of bee venom to disrupt the protective membrane envelopes or the replication of a wide variety of enveloped and non-enveloped viruses, including Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Coxsackievirus, Enterovirus, Influenza A Viruses, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), H1N1, Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV), Junín Virus (JV), Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV) and Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV).
The authors point out that bee venom, in low doses and controlled dilute concentrations, triggers a range of anti-inflammatory responses, and have been deployed for management of diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease, obesity, asthma, skin diseases, and central nervous system-associated diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and sclerosis. At low doses, bee venom can suppress inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-8, interferon-γ (IFN-γ), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α).
Separately, another research group in India has also suggested the use of micro-dosed melittin-in-surfactant compounds or coconut oil-melittin nanoemulsions as a nasal spray to prevent against ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome) associated with SARS-CoV-2.
Data published in sciencedirect.com indicates that beekeepers living in the epicenter of the SARS-CoV-2 virus did not contract the virus, and neither did a group of patients receiving apitherapy. A total of 5115 beekeepers were surveyed from February 23 to March 8, 2020, including 723 in Wuhan, the outbreak epicentre of Hubei. None of these beekeepers developed symptoms associated with COVID-19, and their health was totally normal.
The co-authors pointed out that “It reminds us the story of the discovery of cowpox and the eventual victory of humans over this disease.”
There is little known about the interactions of bee venom and melittin with SARS-COV-2 infection. In vitro antiviral assay results post melittin-treatments have shown significant decrease in the SARS-CoV-2 viral loads compared to the untreated group. Animal injection studies show melittin wrapped in nanoparticles increases the number of immune cells such as CD8+ T cells, CD4+ T cells, NK cells, and monocytes. In humans, these cells all play an important role in control of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Other studies show that bee venom can activate T regulatory cells that control runaway inflammation (Cytokine storms).
One big caveat to the observation in Wuhan is the tolerance developed in those beekeepers to bee stings: “These people have one thing in common: they develop a tolerance to bee sting,” wrote lead author Wei Yang, an oncologist from China and two associates. In other words, bee venom is not immunogenic to certain people who are raised in cohabitation with, or live near bee colonies. For the rest of people who are in big polluted cities and away from feral bee colonies, and therefore, unsure of their reaction to bee venom, I would advise caution.