The Anecdotal Evidence Portraying the Effects of Apitherapy in Healthcare

Parimah Ebadi, Department of Apihterapy, Iran University of Science and Technology, Iran, Email: ebadi_parimah@gmail.com

Received: 03-Dec-2021 Published: 24-Dec-2021

Apitherapy is a form of alternative medicine that uses products that come directly from bees. It is used to treat diseases and their symptoms as well as the pain of severe and chronic injuries. Diseases that may be treated with apitherapy include: multiple sclerosis.

References to potential therapeutic properties of bee products can be found in traditional Chinese, Korean, Russian, Egyptian and Greek traditional medicine systems. Apitherapy has been practiced since the days of Hippocrates and Galen. The modern use of bee venom seems to have originated with the Austrian physician Philipp Terč and his 1888 article “On the Strange Relationship between Bees and Blood Diseases”, but his claims were not tested in relevant clinical trials. The most recent alternative treatment is said to have been performed by Hungarian physician Bodog F. Beck who coined the term “bee venom treatment” in 1935, and beekeeper Charles Mraz (1905- 1999) in the latter half of the twentieth century. 9] In 1957, the USSR Department of Health approved the use of bee venom in the treatment of certain diseases with the approval of Nikolay Artemov’s “Beekeeping Anti-Bee Medicine.”

Historically people have used bee products in a variety of ways: beeswax was used to cast iron and make burning weapons, honey was used for food and religious offerings, propolis was used as an adhesive, and pollen was used for agricultural work as a plant breeder. Bees at the clinic by injection of J. Langer of the University of Prague in the late 1890’s and 1930’s, a company in southern Germany named Mack developed commercially commercial bee venom. Apitherapy is used in traditional medicine in Europe, Asia, and South America including China, Korea, and Russia.

Adverse reactions to bee venom often occur. Frequent exposure to toxins can also lead to arthropathy. In sleepy people, toxic compounds can act as allergens, causing a number of allergies that can range from mild, local to severe systemic reactions, anaphylactic shock, or even death. In March 2018 it was reported that a 55-year-old woman had died after receiving “bebe acupuncture”, suffering from a severe anaphylactic episode in which an apitherapy doctor did not respond by giving adrenaline. Although the ambulance crew was on her way to the hospital, she died a few weeks later from complications leading to multiple organ failure. Live bee acupuncture therapy is “unsafe and inappropriate”, according to researchers studying the case.

Honey bees contain more than 40 active ingredients, many of which have physiological effects. The most common compound is an anti-inflammatory agent called melittin. This triggers the body to produce cortisol, which is an agent of the body’s immune system. It was noted that tests have shown that melittin can slow down the inflammatory response. This is why toxins may be helpful in treating inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis. Other compounds that may have pharmacological effects include apamin, which works to improve nerve transmission; adolapin, which is anti-inflammatory and analgesic; and other neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine and dopamine and seratonin, which are found in depression. Most people who receive medical treatment do so on their own or with the help of a medical professional.

Acknowledgement

The authors are grateful to the journal editor and the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.