Inhibitory effect of whole bee venom in adjuvant-induced arthritis.

Abstract	The aim of this study was to assess the inhibitory effect of whole bee venom (BV) on adjuvant-induced arthritis in the rat. Rats were divided into pre-apitherapy, post-apitherapy and control experimental groups. The pre-apitherapy group was subcutaneously stung with a honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) and the control group was subcutaneously injected with 0.1 ml of physiological saline solution one day prior to complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) injection. The post-apitherapy group was subcutaneously stung with a honeybee on day 14 after CFA injection. When arthritis had developed in the rat, the post-apitherapy group was subcutaneously administered whole BV every other day for a further 14 days. Clinical signs, hematological values and radioglogical features were observed during the entire experimental period. In the pre-apitherapy group, the development of inflammatory edema and polyarthritis was inhibited. Significant differences in lameness score, hind paw edema volume and radiological features were observed between control and pre-apitherapy rats. White blood cell counts indicated that the degree of leucocytosis was significantly different between the pre-apitherapy and control groups (p < 0.01). Inflammatory edema, polyarthritis and bone change into the right hind paw were effectively inhibited in pre-apitherapy rats during the two-week period post-CFA injection. In conclusion, whole BV was found to inhibit arthritic inflammation and bone changes in the rat. This may be an alternative treatment for arthritis in humans.
Authors	Jae Yeong Lee, Seong Soo Kang, Joong-Hyun Kim, Chun Sik Bae, Seok Hwa Choi
Journal	In vivo (Athens, Greece) (In Vivo) 2005 Jul-Aug Vol. 19 Issue 4 Pg. 801-5 ISSN: 0258-851X [Print] Greece
PMID	15999553 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
Chemical References	Anti-Inflammatory Agents Bee Venoms
Topics	Animals Anti-Inflammatory Agents (therapeutic use) Arthritis, Experimental (pathology, physiopathology, therapy) Bee Venoms (therapeutic use) Disease Models, Animal Edema (drug therapy, pathology) Hindlimb (drug effects) Lameness, Animal (drug therapy, physiopathology) Leukocyte Count Leukocytes (drug effects) Male Rats Rats, Sprague-Dawley

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