Bee venom: A medical perspective

Abstract

Apitherapy is a complementary medical technique that has an old history and is applied in various diseases worldwide. Apitherapeutical applications are not treatment methods by themself, but theycan be substantial parts of multidisciplinary approaches. One of them, bee venom therapy, is a currently-applied method worldwide. Bee venom (BV) includes several substances such as peptides, phospholipids, bioactive amines, amino acids, sugars, pheromones, enzymes and minerals.Studies on whole BV and its singular components indicated that they have a huge potential in anti-inflammatory, anti-arthritis, anti-nociceptive, neuroprotective, anti-tumoral, anti-microbial, anti-diabetic and anti-rheumatic activities.Results of in vivo studies against arthritis, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease andcancer are very promising, and also in vitro results indicating other activities such as antimicrobial effect are observed. Although mechanisms of action and many bioactive substances still remains unclear, beneficial effects and potential utilities in certain medical conditions are obvious. It seems bioactive components of BV may open new doors in treatment of various diseases.

Keywords

• Apitherapy; Apitoxin; Bee Venom Therapy; Bee Venom Acupuncture

Arı zehri: Tıbbi bakış

Abstract

Apiterapi, dünya çapında çok sayıda hastalığın tedavisinde kullanılan ve kökeni çok eski tıbbi kayıtlara dayanan bir tamamlayıcı tıp uygulamasıdır. Apiterapötik teknikler kendi başlarına tedavi yöntemleri değil, aslında, çok disiplinli tıbbi yaklaşımın bir parçasıdırlar. Bu yöntemlerden biri, arı zehri tedavisi, dünyada şu anda uygulanan bir tekniktir. Arı zehri, peptitler, fosfolipitler, biyoaktif aminler, amino asitler, şekerler, feromonlar, enzimler ve mineraller gibi çok sayıda madde içermektedir. Arı zehrinin tümü ve içerdiği materyallere ayrı ayrı yapılan çalışmalarda, bunların, antiinflamatuvar, antiartrit, antinosiseptif, nöroprotektif, antitümöral, antimikrobiyal, antidiyabetik ve antiromatizmal etki potantisiyeli açıkça gösterilmiştir. Artrit, Parkinson ve Alzheimer hastalığı ile kansere yönelik in vivo çalışmalar ile antimikrobiyal etkinlik gibi in vitro çalışmalarda son derece umut verici sonuçlar gözlenmiştir. Her ne kadar etki mekanizması ve birçok biyoaktif içeriği henüz aydınlatılmamış olsa da, belirli tıbbi durumlarda etkinliği açıkça görülmüştür. Arı zehrinin biyoaktif komponentlerinin diğer başka hastalıklar için de yeni kapılar açacağı düşünülmektedir.

Keywords

• Apiterapi; Apitoksin; Arı Zehri Tedavisi; Arı Zehri Akupunkturu

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