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. 2021 May 20;26(10):3049.
doi: 10.3390/molecules26103049.

Chemical Profiling and Antimicrobial Properties of Honey Bee (Apis mellifera L.) Venom

Irina Tanuwidjaja  1 , Lidija Svečnjak  2 , Domenika Gugić  1 , Marko Levanić  2 , Slaven Jurić  3 , Marko Vinceković  3 , Mirna Mrkonjić Fuka  1
Affiliations

Chemical Profiling and Antimicrobial Properties of Honey Bee (Apis mellifera L.) Venom

Irina Tanuwidjaja et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

The incidence of antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria has become an alarming clinical and social problem. Therefore, the demand for alternative antimicrobial compounds has increased. In this study, a chemical profile of honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) venom (HBV) has been determined by HPLC and FTIR-ATR spectroscopy, and tested for antibacterial activity, as well as efficiency with regard to conventional antibiotics. The investigated HBV was of high quality with melittin and total protein contents of 70.10 ± 7.01%, and 84.44 ± 3.12 g/100 g, respectively. The purity of HBV was confirmed by FTIR-ATR spectral profiling, which revealed a unique pattern of absorption bands that are characteristic of its major fractions. In addition, HBV showed a broad spectrum of activity against all three tested biomasses of potentially pathogenic Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria with MIC values ranging between 12.5 and 200 µg/mL, and MBC between 12.5 and 400 µg/mL. When compared to conventional antibiotics, HBV (400 µg) showed up to 27.8% efficiency of tetracycline (30 µg), 52.2% erythromycin (15 µg), 21.2% ciprofloxacin (5 µg), and 34.6% of ampicillin-sulbactam (20 µg). The overall results demonstrate the therapeutic potential of the analyzed HBV.

Keywords: FTIR-ATR spectral profile; antibacterial activity; conventional antibiotics; honey bee venom; melittin; total protein.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Characteristic FTIR-ATR spectrum of dried honey bee venom (powder) with the assignation of major underlying molecular vibrations.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparative spectral features of dried vs. liquid honey bee venom (extracted from a 24-day old worker bee).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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