الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract The present study was primarily undertaken to compare between three honeybee strains, the Carniolan honeybee (Apis mellifera carnica), Italian honeybee (Apis mellifera ligustica), and the hybrid strain depending on the protein composition of their venom. It was also carried out to assess the anti-tumor effect of bee venom on mice Ehrlich cancer cells. In order to establish these objectives successfully, the present work provided an attempt to modify a bee venom collector device which allows effective collection of bee venom without physiological and ecological damage to bees, and can be moved easily and installed inside the bee hive. Analysis of the collected bee venom revealed the presence of very little difference between the three tested strains in the total protein concentration of their venom. When the denatured proteins of the venom were separated and compared by using SDS-PAGE, 11 common bands with molecular weights ranged between 9.5567 and 74.285 kDa were found in the venom of the three honeybee strains. The densitometric scanning analysis of the denaturated proteins of the venom screened that the protein band with the molecular weight 11.25 kDa has the highest concentrations in the Carniolan, Italian and the hybrid honeybee venom respectively. The possible tumor growth inhibiting effects of bee venom in mice were also studied. The tumor was a transplantable Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) of diseased female Swiss albino mouse. Subcutaneous administration of bee venom to mice before injection with EAC cells, significantly inhibited tumor growth, as well as the rate of survival of the mice was also prolonged. On the other hand, when bee venom was administered to mice after the tumor was developed, there was a noticeable reduction in the tumor volume and the treated mice lived longer than that of the untreated group. |