Honey bee venom is a well-known pharmacologically active product of the hive. It is synthesized by the venom glands of workers and queens, stored in the venom reservoir and injected through the sting apparatus during the stinging process. A mature defender or forager contains about 100 æg-150 æg of venom and a young queen about 700 æg.
Bee venom is a bitter, hydrolytic blend of proteins with basic pH that is used by the bees for defense. The potential production and use of bee venom has been hindered by a general lack of medical research into its use for other than diagnosing and treating venom hypersensitivity and the suspicion of the medical profession for its use. Research has, however, indicated a possible use of bee venom for treatment of arthritis.
Bee venom also serves as a raw material source for enzymes such as phospholipase A2 and highly active peptides. A technique involving simultaneous electrical stimulation of a large portion of the entire population of a bee colony is used in bee venom collection. The procedure works best with large colonies but has the disadvantage of making the bees extremely excitable and defensive, with bees stinging people who are within several hundred meters of the affected colony. Also this method appears to be a viable method mainly for honey bees.
Virtually all commercial honey bee venom is now collected by means of the electrical stimulation technique. Exact production figures are unavailable, but probably small. For example in the U.S., all the venom needed, is produced by essentially one beekeeper. The price of bee venom on the U.S. open market varies greatly with a typical 1990 price of about US$100-200 per g and much higher for smaller quantities. Many European and Asian producers are also in the market and their prices, as well as those direct from beekeepers, can be considerably lower. Unless bee venom finds accepted usage in treatment of arthritis, its market potential is unlikely to increase. (mainebee)
