I keep hearing that it has a great anti-inflammatory agent to it.

but how does it work? Is it injected? is it applied on the skin?

what?

Is this a scam:

http://www.shopnewzealand.co.nz/en/c...elief_Rub_30gm

Hi gonna post some article abstracts let me know if you want more I may be able to get the articles...... happy reading hope u find the info you need...


Hugs Victoria




Authors Ramamoorthy A. Thennarasu S. Lee DK. Tan A. Maloy L.

Authors Full Name Ramamoorthy, Ayyalusamy. Thennarasu, Sathiah. Lee, Dong-Kuk. Tan, Anmin. Maloy, Lee.

Institution Biophysics Research Division and Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1055, USA. ramamoor@umich.edu

Title Solid-state NMR investigation of the membrane-disrupting mechanism of antimicrobial peptides MSI-78 and MSI-594 derived from magainin 2 and melittin.

Source Biophysical Journal. 91(1):206-16, 2006 Jul 1.


The mechanism of membrane interaction of two amphipathic antimicrobial peptides, MSI-78 and MSI-594, derived from magainin-2 and melittin, is presented. Both the peptides show excellent antimicrobial activity. The 8-anilinonaphthalene-1-sulfonic acid uptake experiment using Escherichia coli cells suggests that the outer membrane permeabilization is mainly due to electrostatic interactions. The interaction of MSI-78 and MSI-594 with lipid membranes was studied using 31P and 2H solid-state NMR, circular dichroism, and differential scanning calorimetry techniques. The binding of MSI-78 and MSI-594 to the lipid membrane is associated with a random coil to alpha-helix structural transition. MSI-78 and MSI-594 also induce the release of entrapped dye from POPC/POPG (3:1) vesicles. Measurement of the phase-transition temperature of peptide-DiPoPE dispersions shows that both MSI-78 and MSI-594 repress the lamellar-to-inverted hexagonal phase transition by inducing positive curvature strain. 15N NMR data suggest that both the peptides are oriented nearly perpendicular to the bilayer normal, which infers that the peptides most likely do not function via a barrel-stave mechanism of membrane-disruption. Data obtained from 31P NMR measurements using peptide-incorporated POPC and POPG oriented lamellar bilayers show a disorder in the orientation of lipids up to a peptide/lipid ratio of 1:20, and the formation of nonbilayer structures at peptide/lipid ratio>1:8. 2H-NMR experiments with selectively deuterated lipids reveal peptide-induced disorder in the methylene units of the lipid acyl chains. These results are discussed in light of lipid-peptide interactions leading to the disruption of membrane via either a carpet or a toroidal-type mechanism.




Institute for Functional Brain Disorders and Institute for Biomedical Sciences of Pain, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, #1 Xinsi Road, Baqiao, Xi'an 710038, PR China.

Title
Effects of bee venom peptidergic components on rat pain-related behaviors and inflammation.

Source Neuroscience. 138(2):631-40, 2006.

Abstract
To identify the active components of honeybee venom in production of inflammation and pain-related behaviors, five major peptidergic subfractions were separated, purified and identified from the whole honeybee venom. Among them, four active peptidergic components were characterized as apamin, mast-cell degranulating peptide (MCDP), phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2))-related peptide and melittin, respectively. All five subfractions were effective in production of local inflammatory responses (paw edema) in rats although the efficacies were different. Among the five identified subfractions, only MCDP, PLA(2)-related peptide and melittin were able to produce ongoing pain-related behaviors shown as paw flinches, while only apamin and melittin were potent to produce both thermal and mechanical hypersensitivity. As shown in our previous report, melittin was the most potent polypeptide in production of local inflammation as well as ongoing pain and hypersensitivity. To further explore the peripheral mechanisms underlying melittin-induced nociception and hypersensitivity, a single dose of capsazepine, a blocker of thermal nociceptor transient receptor potential vanilloid receptor 1, was treated s.c. prior to or after melittin administration. The results showed that both pre- and post-treatment of capsazepine could significantly prevent and suppress the melittin-induced ongoing nociceptive responses and thermal hypersensitivity, but were without influencing mechanical hypersensitivity. The present results suggest that the naturally occurring peptidergic substances of the whole honeybee venom have various pharmacological potencies to produce local inflammation, nociception and pain hypersensitivity in mammals, and among the five identified reverse-phase high pressure liquid chromatography subfractions (four polypeptides), melittin, a polypeptide occupying over 50% of the whole honeybee venom, plays a central role in production of local inflammation, nociception and hyperalgesia or allodynia following the experimental honeybee's sting. Peripheral transient receptor potential vanilloid receptor 1 is likely to be involved in melittin-produced ongoing pain and heat hyperalgesia, but not mechanical hyperalgesia, in rats.

Publication Type Journal Article.



College of Pharmacy, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 361-763, Chungbuk, Korea.


Melittin inhibits vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation through induction of apoptosis via suppression of nuclear factor-kappaB and Akt activation and enhancement of apoptotic protein expression.
Source Journal of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics. 317(2):627-34, 2006 May.


In the present study, we have investigated the bee venom (BV) and melittin (a major component of BV)-mediated antiproliferative effect and defined its mechanisms of action in cultured rat aortic vascular smooth muscle cell(s) (VSMC). BV and melittin ( approximately 0.4-0.8 microg/ml) effectively inhibited 5% fetal bovine serum-induced and 50 ng/ml platelet-derived growth factor BB (PDGF-BB)-induced VSMC proliferation. The regulation of apoptosis has attracted much attention as a possible means of eliminating excessively proliferating VSMC. In the present study, the treatment of BV and melittin strongly induced apoptosis of VSMC. To investigate the antiproliferative mechanism of BV and melittin, we examined the effect of melittin on nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) activation, the PDGF-BB-induced IkappaBalpha phosphorylation, and its degradation were potently inhibited by melittin and whether DNA binding activity and nuclear translocation of NF-kappaB p50 subunit in response to the action of PDGF-BB were potently attenuated by melittin. In further investigations, melittin markedly inhibited the PDGF-BB-induced phosphorylation of Akt and weakly inhibited phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2, upstream signals of NF-kappaB. Treatment of melittin also potently induced proapoptotic protein p53, Bax, and caspase-3 expression but decreased antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2 expression. These results suggest the antiproliferative effects of BV and melittin in VSMC through induction of apoptosis via suppressions of NF-kappaB and Akt activation and enhancement of apoptotic signaling pathway.

Publication Type Journal Article.



Center for Sensory-Motor Interaction, Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.

Title Secondary heat hyperalgesia induced by melittin in humans.

Source European Journal of Pain: Ejp. 10(2):121-5, 2006 Feb.

Abstract

Melittin, which is a principal protein of honeybee venom, can induce mechanical hyperalgesia in humans.


Hi please not what hyperalgesia is......hypersensitivity to everything.......victoria....

The characteristics of the melittin induced mechanical hyperalgesia are quantitatively and qualitatively different from those evoked by capsaicin.

( this is what is in the cream they give you....hot peppers..........)

The aim of the present study was to investigate in detail secondary heat hyperalgesia induced by melittin in humans. In six healthy volunteers, 10 microg of melittin was injected intradermally on the volar forearm, and VAS score to radiant heat stimuli (focused light from a xenon lamp) was assessed around the injection site 5, 30, and 60 min after injection. For normalization purposes, a pain rating index was calculated as the individual heat evoked VAS scores obtained after melittin divided by the individual baseline VAS scores. A two-way ANOVA revealed a significant increase of the pain rating index over time (F=3.6; P=0.03). The pain rating index at 60 min was significantly larger than at 5 min (P=0.04) and at 30 min (P=0.03). These results demonstrated slowly developing secondary heat hyperalgesia after injection of melittin. A possible contribution of peripheral inflammatory responses to the manifestation of secondary heat hyperalgesia is suggested, which in reality render the distinction between the primary and secondary area of heat hyperalgesia unnecessary.

Publication Type Journal Article.




hope some of these help you.........victoria.......please not that I have added info into the abstracts in brackets or large print.....anything I highlighted in red I felt was important to know....I am a registered nurse.....

take care,
Victoria

so I don't get it

do they recommend an injection or topical cream?

I googled and here is the link to all that comes up.
http://www.google.com/search?lr=&ie=...F-8&q=Melittin


from-
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medi...p?newsid=15901

[doctors have joined holistic practitioners in exploring the potential of bee venom for treating a wide variety of conditions from acute tendonitis to chronic back pain to rheumatoid arthritis (RA). ]

Hi Rokeman,
From it being advertised in a cream pot, I think the thought is it is a topical ointment. For injections I have trigger points, with ergh, does it have a T? Brain fog....also epidural in the C5 with depro midrol wonderful help. Sorry not to have recall, maybe in the Am, or someone can fill in my gaps.

Now, personally unless a doctor I knew had paitents using it, like they did for gluclosimine chondrotin, (sp) I would watch and see. Then too, like the glucosimine, chondrotin, what are you out maybe $20? Not sure on the cost.

For me I use biofreeze with ilex I think it is called. I buy it on ebay about $6.50 a roll on. I also use lidocain patches every day.
Topicals are a temporary help, not long term cure, but it certainly means a lot for nights sleep or day activity.

For anti inflamatory I use Toradol, muscle relaxant the best in the world is valium, and the most releif I get from anything is the hot tub.
In a major flare up from asthma, into bronchitis once, I had the steroids...Oh, I hate how I forget the name.....WOW, did that make TOS symptoms as if they were gone! Wonderful side effect.

Hope you find something that works great if it is the melitin or another.
Dianne

Seems to me too new and there is confilicting advice and confusing lab studies......I couldn't find any real MEDICAL...not google articles on it...but the bottom line is if you try it and it works use it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What is paying $20 to see if it works????? Pain........$20.......I'm spending the money if it comes to that.......best of luck

Victoria