Bee Venom Blocks Arthritis Inflammation
Reported November 15, 2004
(Ivanhoe Newswire) –Bees may be of more use to humans than just for honey.A team of investigators in South Korea gave very low doses of bee venom to rats with advanced rheumatoid arthritis. The treatment resulted in dramatic reductions of tissue swelling on affected paws.
Researchers then examined the effects of bee venom on synovial cells (cells lining the joints) obtained from human patients. The venom blocked the expression of inflammatory genes, much like COX-2 inhibitor drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis.
The researchers focused on melittin, a major component of bee venom and a powerful anti-inflammatory agent. They say this may hold the key to the anti-arthritic effects of bee venom.
According to the article, healers have practiced apitherapy, the use of honeybee products for curative purposes, since ancient times. Within the last few decades, conventional doctors have joined holistic practitioners in exploring the potential for bee venom to treat a wide variety of conditions from acute tendonitis to chronic back pain.
More research is needed to establish bee venom as a therapy, however. The way bee venom works remains a mystery.
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, destructive disease characterized by pain, stiffness, inflammation, swelling, and sometimes destruction of the joints
SOURCE: Arthritis & Rheumatism, 2004;50:3504-3515