Since ancient times, healers have practiced apitherapy, the use of honeybee products for curative purposes. Within the last few decades, conventional 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). While research has established anti-arthritic effects of bee venom, much about the way bee venom work remains a mystery. A team of researchers in South Korea recently conducted an investigation into the molecular mechanisms behind bee venom’s therapeutic impact on RA, a chronic, destructive inflammatory disease. The November 2004 issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism (http://www.interscience.wiley.com/journal/arthritis) presents their insights into melittin, a major component of bee venom and a powerful anti-inflammatory agent.
