• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.73-86
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• 2001

Objective : These case study were made to evaluate and observe the treatment for the Herpes-Zoster through the korean oriental medicine. Method : Clinical observation and analysis about 4 cases of Herpes-zoster including the Ramsay's-hunt syndrome had been done the patients of the Sang-Ji Oriental Medicine Hospital. These cases were mainly treated with oriental medicine using the Herb medication, Korean Bee-Venom therapy, Acupuncture and Electro-acupuncture therapy. Acupuncture technic was mainly used Sa-Am acupuncture(Four needle technique). Result : After treatment, all of cases were completely cured without any complication. Conclusion : Based on the clinical results, Korean Oriental Medicine is believed to be effective for treating Herpes-zoster, and further studies should be conducted to provide more valuable information.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.397-403
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• 1999

This study was designed to examine the clincotherapeutic effect of natural honeybee (Apis mellifera) venom in sows with mastitis, metritis and agalactia (MMA) syndrome. Sows with MMA syndrome after parturition were assigned to treated and nontreated control groups. In treated group, 22 sows were bee acupunctured once a day for 3 consecutive days. Acupuncture points of Jiao-chao (GV-1, at the indentation between the base of tail and the anus), Yang-ming (ST-18, outside at the base of teat) and Hai-men (ST-25, about 1 cm lateral to the umbilicus) were stung by the natural honeybees. In control group, 20 sows were intramuscularly injected with a standard dosage of penicillin G (400,000 IU/kg of body weight) once a day for 3 consecutive days. At post-treatment, 85.0% of control sows and 90.9% of sows in treated group recovered from MMA syndrome. Bee acupuncture therapy didn't show any side effects such as allergy, intoxication, hemorrhage, or infection. It might be concluded that apitherapy was effective in controlling of sows with MMA syndrome.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.101-115
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• 2001

Objective : To characterize the antitumorigenic potential of Apamin, one of the major components of bee venom, its effects on cell proliferation and the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signal transduction pathway were characterized using the human melanoma cell line SK-MEL-2. Methods & Results : Cell counting analysis for cell death demonstrated that consistent with a previous results, SK-MEL-2 cells treated with $0.5-2.0{\mu}g/ml$ of Apamin showed no recognizable cytotoxic effect whereas detectable induction of cell death was identified at concentrations over $5.0{\mu}g/ml$. [3H]thymidine incorporation assay for cell proliferation demonstrated that DNA replication of SK-MEL-2 cells is inhibited by Apamin in a dose- and time-dependent manner. To explore whether Apamin-induced growth suppression is associated with the MAPK signaling pathway, phosphorylation of Erk, a function mediator of MAPK growth-stimulating signal, was examined Western blot assay using a phospho-specific Erkl/2 antibody. A significant increase of Erkl/2 phosphorylation level was observed in Apamin-treated cells compared with untreated control cells. Qantitative RT-PCR analysis revealed that Apamin inhibit expression of MAPK downstream genes such as c-Jun, c-Fos, and cyclin D1 but not expression of MAPK pathway component genes including Ha-Ras, c-Raf-1, MEK1, and Erk. Conclusion : It is strongly suggested that the antitumorigenic activity of Apamin might result in part from its inhibitory effect on the MAPK signaling pathway in human melanoma cells SK-MEL-2.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.18-26
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• 2014

Objectives: This study was performed to check for reversibility in the changes induced by a 13-week, repeated, dose toxicity test of Sweet Bee Venom (SBV) in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Methods: Fifteen male and 15 female SD rats were treated with 0.28 mg/kg of SBV (high-dosage group) and the same numbers of male and female SD rats were treated with 0.2 mL/kg of normal saline (control group) for 13 weeks. We selected five male and five female SD rats from the high-dosage group and the same numbers of male and female SD rats from the control group, and we observed these rats for four weeks. We conducted body-weight measurements, ophthalmic examinations, urinalyses and hematology, biochemistry, histology tests. Results: (1) Hyperemia and movement disorder were observed in the 13-week, repeated, dose toxicity test, but these symptoms were not observed during the recovery period. (2) The rats in the high-dose group showed no significant changes in weight compared to the control group. (3) No significant differences in the ophthalmic parameters, urine analyses, complete blood cell counts (CBCs), and biochemistry were observed among the recovery groups. (4) No changes in organ weights were observed during the recovery period. (5) Histological examination of the thigh muscle indicated cell infiltration, inflammation, degeneration, necrosis of muscle fiber, and fibrosis during the treatment period, but these changes were not observed during the recovery period. The fatty liver change that was observed during the toxicity test was not observed during the recovery period. No other organ abnormalities were observed. Conclusion: The changes that occurred during the 13-week, repeated, dose toxicity test are reversible, and SBV can be safely used as a treatment modality.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.63-72
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• 2003

Objective : he purposes of this study are to evaluate the efficacy of Bee Venom therapy(BV) on HNP(Herniation of Nucleus Purposus) of Lumbar spine by use of Visual Analog Scale(VAS), Pain Rating Scale(PRS) and Digital Infrared Thermographic Imaging(DITI), and to investigate their correlation. Methods : We researched 20 patients who were diagnosed by MRI as having a HNP, and treated them by Oriental medical therapy(including BV) for 4 weeks. The evaluation was peformed twice(admission day and after treatment for 4 weeks), and we compared the results. Results : 1. VAS, PRS and ${\Delta}t$(by DITI) were decreased after BV for 4 weeks significantly(p<0.01). 2. There was significant correlation between VAS and PRS(p<0.05). 3. There was significant correlation between PRS and ${\Delta}t$(p<0.05). 4. There was no significant correlation between VAS and ${\Delta}t$. Conclusions : BV improved HNP subjectively and objectively, and correlation was found between VAS and PRS and between PRS and ${\Delta}t$. Further study is needed for investigating their correlation.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.10
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• pp.1827-1836
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• 2017

The world dairy industry has long been challenged by bovine mastitis, an inflammatory disease, which causes economic loss due to decreased milk production and quality. Attempts have been made to prevent or treat this disease with multiple approaches, primarily through increased abuse of antibiotics, but effective natural solutions remain elusive. Bee venom (BV) contains a variety of peptides (e.g., melittin) and shows multiple bioactivities, including prevention of inflammation. Thus, in the current study, it was hypothesized that BV can reduce inflammation in bovine mammary epithelial cells (MAC-T). To examine the hypothesis, cells were treated with LPS ($1{\mu}g/ml$) to induce an inflammatory response and the anti-inflammatory effects of BV (2.5 and $5{\mu}g/ml$) were investigated. The cellular mechanisms of BV against LPS-induced inflammation were also investigated. Results showed that BV can attenuate expression of an inflammatory protein, COX2, and pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6 and TNF-${\alpha}$. Activation of NF-${\kappa}B$, an inflammatory transcription factor, was significantly downregulated by BV in cells treated with LPS, through dephosphorylation of ERK1/2. Moreover, pretreatment of cells with BV attenuated LPS-induced production of intracellular reactive oxygen species (e.g., superoxide anion). These results support our hypothesis that BV can decrease LPS-induced inflammatory responses in bovine mammary epithelial cells through inhibition of oxidative stress, NF-${\kappa}B$, ERK1/2, and COX-2 signaling.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.22-26
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• 2014

Objectives: This study was performed to estimate the effectiveness of burning acupuncture therapy (Hwachim) and sweet bee venom pharmacopuncture (S-BV pharmacopuncture) in treating lateral epicondylitis of elbow. Methods: We selected 33 patients at first, but 13 patients were excluded due to unclear medical records. Finally, a total of 20 patients who had received treatment from January 2012 to December 2013 were included in this study; all 20 patients had undergone Hwachim for the treatment of lateral epicondylitis of elbow, and 19 of the 20 had been treated with S-BV pharmacopuncture (Korea Pharmacopuncture Institute, KPI) and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) as an ancillary treatment method. The degrees of pain of the 20 patients were evaluated by using the visual analogue scale (VAS) score at their first and final visits. The Wilcoxon signed rank test and the Kruskal-Wallis test were used to compare the VAS scores statistically. Results: The VAS score had decreased significantly from $10.00{\pm}0.00$ to $4.00{\pm}2.47$ (P = 0.000) by the end of the treatment. No significant changes were observed based on the number of treatments (P = 0.246), the age of the patients (P = 0.810), the duration of the illness (P = 0.705), and the location of the lesion (P = 0.076). Conclusion: This study suggests Hwachim and S-BV pharmacopuncture are very effective for treating lateral epicondylitis of the elbow.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.281-288
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• 2004

The present study was undertaken to confirm whether melittin, a major constituent of whole bee venom (WBV), had the ability to produce the same nociceptive responses as those induced by WBV. In the behavioral experiment, changes in mechanical threshold, flinching behaviors and paw thickness (edema) were measured after intraplantar (i.pl.) injection of WBV (0.1 mg & 0.3 mg/paw) and melittin (0.05 mg & 0.15 mg/paw), and intrathecal (i.t.) injection of melittin $(6{\mu}g)$. Also studied were the effects of i.p. (2 mg & 4 mg/kg), i.t. $(0.2{\mu}g\;&\;0.4{\mu}g)$ or i.pl. (0.3 mg) administration of morphine on melittin-induced pain responses. I.pl. injection of melittin at half the dosage of WBV strongly reduced mechanical threshold, and increased flinchings and paw thickness to a similar extent as those induced by WBV. Melittin- and WBV-induced flinchings and changes in mechanical threshold were dose- dependent and had a rapid onset. Paw thickness increased maximally about 1 hr after melittin and WBV treatment. Time-courses of nociceptive responses induced by melittin and WBV were very similar. Melittin-induced decreases in mechanical threshold and flinchings were suppressed by i.p., i.t. or i.pl. injection of morphine. I.t. administration of melittin $(6{\mu}g)$ reduced mechanical threshold of peripheral receptive field and induced flinching behaviors, but did not cause any increase in paw thickness. In the electrophysiological study, i.pl. injection of melittin increased discharge rates of dorsal horn neurons only with C fiber inputs from the peripheral receptive field, which were almost completely blocked by topical application of lidocaine to the sciatic nerve. These findings suggest that pain behaviors induced by WBV are mediated by melittin-induced activation of C afferent fiber, that the melittin-induced pain model is a very useful model for the study of pain, and that melittin-induced nociceptive responses are sensitive to the widely used analgesics, morphine.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.7-14
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• 2012

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to compare the effects of bee venom pharmacopuncture (BVP) therapy according to the methods used to treat knee osteoarthritis (OA): intra-acupoint combined with intra-articular injection, intra-acupoint injection, and intra-articular injection. Methods: A total of 69 patients were recruited by the Department of Acupuncture & Moxibustion at Dong-Eui Oriental University Hospital from February 1 to July 23, 2012. The patients were assigned to 3 groups: the first group with intra-acupoint combined with intra-articular BVP Injection (the experimental group), the 2nd group with intra-acupoint BVP injection (control group II), and the 3rd group with intra-articular BVP injection (control group II). The participants were assigned in the order in which they were recruited. Treatments were done twice a week, for a total of 9 times. The effectiveness was assessed by using the visual analouge scale (VAS) and the Korea Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (KWOMAC). Results: All three groups exhibited significant VAS and KWOMAC effects. Moreover, the 4 week follow-up after the final treatment showed a persistence of BVP effects. However, when the groups were compared, no statistically significant differences in VAS and KWOMAC were noted, but when improvement was considered, the results showed that intra-articular injection was more effective than intra-acupoint injection. Especially, intra-acupoint combined with intra-articular injection was the most effective among the three treatments. Conclusions: Combining intra-acupoint with intra-articular injection, depending on the patient's symptoms, may produce better results when conservatively treating knee OA.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.117-127
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• 2008

Objective: Bee venom (BV) has been used for the treatment of inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and relief of pain in Oriental medicine. The two main components of BV are melittin and phospholipase A2 (PLA2). Of these, melittin, the major active ingredient of BV, has been reported to induce apoptosis and to possess anti tumor effects. Several studies have established that the agents inducing apoptosis in target organs suppress tumorigenesis. As the other component, PLA2 has been reported to induce neurite outgrowth in PC12 cells. However, there was no report about proliferative effect of BV in neuronal cells. In order to examine the effect of BV on glioma cell, human glioma cell line, U87 was used. Methods: Analysis of proliferation was confirmed by MTT assay. BV increased cell number through dose and duration dependent manner and these effects are apparent at a concentration of 10 ug/ml. To observe which signaling molecules will be activated by BV, phosphorylation of Akt, MAPK, PYK2 or CREB were examined by Western blot analysis. To study the long term effect of BV in U87 cells, the image of cells treated with BV for 4 days were obtained. Results: The phosphorylation levels of PYK2 and Akt were increased at 5 min after addition of 10 ug/ml of BV and sustained to 2 hours. On the other hand, phosphorylation of MAPK and CREB were increased at 5 min, maximum at 10 min, and returned to 30 min. These imply that BV may activate two different signaling pathways, PYK2/Akt and MAPK/CREB. BV treated cells showed increased neurite number and length. Conclusion: These results propose that BV may induce differentiation as well as proliferation of U87 cells through the activation of PYK2/ Akt and MAPK/ CREB.