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Apitherapy is the medical use of honeybee products. This can include the use of honey, pollen, propolis, royal jelly, and bee venom.
Most claims of apitherapy have not been proved to the scientific standards of evidence-based medicine and are anecdotal in nature. A wide variety of conditions and diseases have been suggested as candidates for apitherapy, the most well-known being bee venom therapy for autoimmune diseases and multiple sclerosis.
History
The exact origins of apitherapy is difficult to pinpoint and can be traced back, in a general sense, to ancient Egypt, Greece and China. Use of honey and other bee products can be traced back thousands of years and healing properties are included in many religious texts including the Veda, Bible and Koran. These are mostly attributed to nutritional benefits of consumption of bee-products and not use of bee venom.
The more modern study of apitherapy, specifically bee venom, was initiated through the efforts of Austrialian physician Phillip Terc in his published results "Report about a Peculiar Connection Between the Beestings and Rheumatism" in 1888. More recent popularity can be drawn to Charles Mraz a beekeeper from Vermont, United States over the past 60 years.
Clinical practice
While many areas of apitherapy is often just consuming bee products, bee venom therapy is the most commonly associated and not nutritional benefits of honey/bee products. Bee venom therapy is claimed to be of use in arthritis, bursitis, tendonitis, dissolving scar tissue (e.g. keloids), etc.
The most abundant active component of the venom is melittin, which has a powerful anti-inflammatory action. However, bee venom is a complex mix of a variety of peptides and proteins, some of which have strong neurotoxic and immunogenic effects.
There is no standardized practice as some proport the location of the sting is important and is likely a combination of acupuncture. Others report the location is not important. Number of stings also varies wildly from a few to hundreds and some are administered by live bees and others by injection. Extreme caution should be used before considering this, as anaphylactic shock can be fatal.
Scientific research
In a controlled study from Allegheny University of the Health Sciences in Philadelphia, bee venom was found to have no positive effects at any dosage in mice with EAE, the animal model for multiple sclerosis. Additionally many of the animals expressed worse symptoms from the placebo groups. *
Phase I of a study at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, DC, funded by the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA) was geared towards safety in administering bee venom treatments to humans with multiple sclerosis. *
Safety and risks
Before considering any kind of bee venom treatment, you should consult your doctor. Dosage and many other factors of bee venom can range from extreme pain to even death.
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"Apitherapy"