Bee Venom May Protect Against Acute Pancreatitis

Effects of Bee Venom on Cholecystokinin Octapeptide-Induced Acute Pancreatitis in Rats
Pancreas, 36(2):e22-e29, March 2008

Objectives: Bee venom (BV) has frequently been used as a remedy for inflammatory diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of BV on cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8)-induced acute pancreatitis (AP) in rats...

Results: The BV pretreatment and posttreatment ameliorated many of the examined laboratory parameters (the pancreatic weight [PW]/body weight [BW] ratio, the serum amylase and lipase activity) and reduced histological damages in pancreas. Furthermore, BV pretreatment reduced the production of tumor necrosis factor-[alpha], interleukin 1, and interleukin 6 and also decreased pancreatic nuclearfactor-[kappa]B binding activity compared with saline-treated group in the AP model. The BV also increased heat shock protein 60 (HSP60) and heat shock protein 72 (HSP72) compared with the saline-treated group in the AP model.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that the anti-inflammatory effect of BV in CCK-8-induced AP seems to be mediated by inhibiting nuclear factor-[kappa]B binding activity, and that BV may have a protective effect against AP.