"Dramatic" Reduction in Pain

29 July 2005

Increasing anecdotal evidence supports the centuries old use of bee venom to relieve arthritic joint pain, but the pain reduction mechanism remained a mystery.

Now a South Korean research team has identified how bee venom works its magic at the cellular level.

A report in the November 2004 issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism shows very low doses of bee venom can result in dramatic reductions in swelling in tissues in animals affected by advanced Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Working first with rats with artificially induced RA, and then with RA patients, the team found conclusive evidence bee venom was anti arthritic because of its successful anti inflammatory action.

The study identified melittin, a major component in bee venom, as the active ingredient that successfully blocked inflammatory response in synovial cells (cells lining the joints) in Rheumatoid Arthritis patients.

Melittin is a peptide which makes up around 50% or more of bee venom.

Melittin blocked inflammatory genes in much the same way as COX-2 inhibitor drugs are used to treat RA, the study found.

By inhibiting factors which directly control genes responsible for immune reactions, melittin provided a natural targeted way of deactivating inflammation the study found.

“The potency of melittin in the inhibition of the inflammatory response may be of great benefit in degenerative and inflammatory diseases such as RA,” concludes one of the study’s authors, Dr Jin Tae Hong.

The authors suggest “determining an effective dose requires further study.”

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