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Becky Masterman earned a PhD in entomology at the University of Minnesota and is currently a host for the Beekeeping Today Podcast. Bridget Mendel joined the Bee Squad in 2013 and led the program from 2020 to 2023. Bridget holds a B.A. from Northwestern University and an M.F.A. from the University of Minnesota. Photos of Becky (left) and Bridget (right) looking for their respective hives. If you would like to contact the authors about your lovely lawns, please send an email to mindingyourbeesandcues@gmail.com.
Minding Your Bees and Cues
This Might Sting Part 2
By: Becky Masterman & Bridget Mendel
Bee Venom
We promised to investigate the benefits of bee venom for you. Humans have known that the sting of a honey bee has healing properties for thousands of years. Maybe you did, too? Healing hive products like honey laced cough drops, propolis tinctures, pollen-topped smoothies are common enough on co-op shelves, and ours too, but we wanted to dig in further to recent scientific research. We’re focusing on bee venom in particular, as this research could give the honey bee an even bigger role in mainstream medical settings. From arthritis to zinc oxide nanoparticles (Eleiwa et al., 2023) scientists are investigating how this natural product can be standardized and delivered to animals. This brief list of recent reports has really upped our respect for our bees, and we hope you’ll feel the same.
- Fish Food Additive
An Egyptian study of red tilapia encapsulated bee venom using nanotechnology and investigated whether the fish benefited from microdosing of honey bee venom. Now don’t start feeding bee venom to your fish, but this study described potential bee venom benefits to the fish: improved intestinal health and digestive enzyme activity; enhanced antioxidant and anti-inflammatory biomarker activity; strengthened immune system and protection against a pathogenic bacterium (Eissaet al., 2025). - Bee Venom and Prostate Cancer
The same nanotechnology used in the red tilapia was studied for delivering anti-cancer drugs to prostate cancer cells in culture (El-Didamony et al. 2022). The goal of this research was to improve bee venom delivery to cancer cells and evaluate efficacy of bee venom. In another win for bee venom, both bee venom and the encapsulated bee venom were more effective in destroying prostate cancer than cancer drug, doxorubicin. - Antimicrobial Properties
While stories of antimicrobial properties of honey and propolis abound, what do you know about the bee venom peptide melittin? There is a significant body of honey bee product antimicrobial research reviewed in a paper by Obeidat et al. (2024). In addition to summarizing the work of other researchers, they report on their own study about honey, propolis, royal jelly, bee venom and melittin. Their work revealed that bee venom and melittin led the way in antimicrobial activity, followed by propolis, royal jelly and honey. The efficacy of bee venom was attributed to the destruction of cell membranes by melittin. Interestingly, the research also documented a decrease in bee venom’s melittin levels in Summer and Fall compared to venom collected in Springtime. The success of bee products against antibiotic-resistant bacteria and fungi is very hopeful. - Diabetic Kidney Disease
Not only is bee venom showing promising signs as a diabetes therapy (Sadek et al., 2024), a recently published study demonstrated its reversal of diabetes related kidney disease in rats. In addition to kidney improvement, this study showed that there were no efficacy differences between venom injection and oral ingestion, a preferred method of delivery (Ahmed et al., 2025).
Scientists are working hard to standardize bee venom delivery and understand the dynamics of its components. No bee was harmed in this photo! Photo credit: Rebecca Masterman
- Wound Healing Enzyme Inhibition
Too much of a good enzyme can cause problems. A Turkish research team studied the impact of bee venom on inhibiting two enzymes, collagenase and myeloperoxidase (Keskin et al., 2024). While both enzymes are important for normal wound healing, both can cause tissue damage in high levels and are present in chronic wounds. In this report, the in vitro (think test tube!) bee venom inhibition effects on collagenase and myeloperoxidase enzymes were demonstrated for the first time. Did you know that the levels of bee venom components vary by honey bee hybrid and geographic location of the colony (Hussein et al., 2019)? Well, this study reported that differing geographic origins of bee venoms in Turkey had significantly different inhibition effects on the studied enzymes. These test tube studies add to the work done by scientists to help standardize the use of bee venom in products that support wound healing and the regeneration of skin. - Viral Infections
Another review paper reports in detail about bee products, in particular bee venom and its efficacy in fighting viral infections (Otreba et al., 2025). The authors cite bee venom’s anti-inflammatory properties and immune-triggering response caused by the melittin peptide as the reason it is effective against viral infections. Which viruses have succumbed to the power of bee venom? The list includes: influenza A, herpes simplex and hepatitis C, to name a few. The authors repeat a common theme when it comes to bee venom and therapeutic effects: more research is needed.
Worldwide, scientists are working to learn more about natural products, like bee venom, and how they can be used in animal medicine. Standardizing delivery is critical to the repeatable success of these therapies and this work is well underway. Do you have experience with the healing properties of honey bees, either through research, a clinical experience, or a more personal one? Write to us. We would love to hear your perspective.
Bee venom can be complicated. Scientists studying bee venom have reported that component levels can vary by honey bee hybrid. Photo credit: Rebecca Masterman
References
Ahmed, A. N., Merzeban, D. H., Eldosoki Mohammed, D. E., Mahmoud, R. H., Metwally, A. A. A., & Metwally Mizar, S. M. (2025). Oral Bee Venom as a Novel Therapeutic Approach for Diabetic Nephropathy in Rats:Role of PI3K, AMPK, and VEGF Signaling. Toxicon (Oxford), 263, Article 108422. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2025.108422
Eissa, M. E., Hendam, B. M., ElBanna, N. I., & Aly, S. M. (2025). Nano-chitosan encapsulation of bee venom: a potential therapeutic strategy for enhancing tilapia health and resistance to Aeromonas hydrophila. Aquaculture International., 33(5), 1–29. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10499-025-02043-3
El-Didamony, S. E., Amer, R. I., & El-Osaily, G. H. (2022). Formulation, characterization and cellular toxicity assessment of a novel bee-venom microsphere in prostate cancer treatment. Scientific Reports, 12(1), Article 13213. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-17391-w
Eleiwa, N. Z. H., Ali, M. A.-A., Said, E. N., Metwally, M. M. M., & Abd-ElHakim, Y. M. (2023). Bee venom (Apis mellifera L.) rescues zinc oxide nanoparticles induced neurobehavioral and neurotoxic impact via controlling neurofilament and GAP-43 in rat brain. Environmental Science and Pollution Research International, 30(38), 88685–88703. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-28538-1
Hussein, A., El-Ansari, M., & Zahra, A. (2019). Effect of the Honeybee Hybrid and Geographic Region on the Honey Bee Venom Production. Journal of Plant Protection and Pathology, 10(3), 171–176. https://doi.org/10.21608/jppp.2019.40922
Keskin, M., Keskin, & Karlidağ, S. (2024). INHIBITION PROPERTIES OF CLINICALLY IMPORTANT ENZYMES IN WOUND HEALING BY BEE VENOM. Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences, 34(4), 1073–1080. https://doi.org/10.36899/JAPS.2024.4.0789
Obeidat M, Haddad MA, Ghnamat SA. Antimicrobial activities of seasonally collected bee products: honey, propolis, royal jelly, venom, and mellitin. Braz J Biol. 2024 Dec 13;84:e286731. doi: 10.1590/1519-6984.286731. PMID: 39699394.
Otręba, M., Marek, Ł., Stojko, J., & Rzepecka-Stojko, A. (2025). Bee products as alternatives in the treatment of viral infections. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.70017
Sadek, K., Sobhy, R., Sammak, D., & Zeweil, M. (2024). Hypoglycemic And Hypolipidemic Biochemical Effects of Bee Venom on Experimentally Induced Diabetes in Rats. Alexandria Journal of Veterinary Sciences, 81, 9. https://doi.org/10.5455/ajvs.194500
