# Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial Properties of Honey Bee Venom
###### Abstract  
Due to its great medical and pharmaceutical importance, honey bee venom is considered to be well characterized both chemically and in terms of biomedical activity. However, this study shows that our knowledge of the composition and antimicrobial properties of _Apis mellifera_ venom is incomplete. In this work, the composition of volatile and extractive components of dry and fresh bee venom (BV) was determined by GC-MS, as well as antimicrobial activity against seven types of pathogenic microorganisms. One-hundred and forty-nine organic C\({}_{1}\)-C\({}_{19}\) compounds of different classes were found in the volatile secretions of the studied BV samples. One-hundred and fifty-two organic C\({}_{2}\)-C\({}_{36}\) compounds were registered in ether extracts, and 201 compounds were identified in methanol extracts. More than half of these compounds are new to BV. In microbiological tests involving four species of pathogenic Gram-positive and two species of Gram-negative bacteria, as well as one species of pathogenic fungi, the values of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal/tungicidal concentration (MBC/MFC) were determined for samples of dry BV, as well as ether and methanol extracts from it. Gram-positive bacteria show the greatest sensitivity to the action of all tested drugs. The minimum MIC values for Gram-positive bacteria in the range of 0.12-7.63 ng mL\({}^{-1}\) were recorded for whole BV, while for the methanol extract they were 0.49-125 ng mL\({}^{-1}\). The ether extracts had a weaker effect on the tested bacteria (MIC values 31.25-500 ng mL\({}^{-1}\)). Interestingly, _Escherichia coli_ was more sensitive (MIC 7.63-500 ng mL\({}^{-1}\)) to the action of bee venom compared to _Pseudomonas aeruginosa_ (MIC \(\geq\) 500 ng mL\({}^{-1}\)). The results of the tests carried out indicate that the antimicrobial effect of BV is associated with the presence of not only peptides, such as melittin, but also low molecular weight metabolites. h 2023284135 1 May 2023284135 1 May 2023284135  
apitoxin is the treatment of various kinds of rheumatoid phenomena [10; 11; 12]. Recent studies have shown that its anti-arthritic effects are associated with anti-inflammatory action [11]. It is believed that the same property prevents the development of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease [13; 14; 15]. Currently, a large number of medicinal products are being produced that contain BV. This is due to the well-documented diverse biological activity of this most expensive bee product. In particular, evidence has been obtained of its antimicrobial action against both bacteria (including antibiotic-resistant strains) and pathogenic fungi [16; 17; 18; 19; 20; 21; 22; 23]. The therapeutic effect of the external use of apitoxin in the treatment of wounds [24; 25] as well as skin diseases [26] is largely associated with antimicrobial activity. Both BV as a whole and its individual components demonstrate anti-cancer activity [10; 13; 23; 27; 28; 29; 30; 31; 32; 33]. Cancer diseases are the main cause of death in the population, and many of their forms are characterized by high malignancy, metastasis, and resistance to chemotherapy [34]. Therefore, the search for alternative ways to combat these diseases with the help of natural remedies, including BV, is one of the priority areas of pharmacology [30]. The wide range of biological activity of BV and the wide range of disease manifestations that can be eliminated or mitigated by drugs based on it contrast with the degree of knowledge of its chemical composition. A consequence of insufficient chemical information about this natural product is the lack of norms and standards necessary to control its quality. Separate groups of chemical compounds of BV are currently being studied to varying degrees. Considerable attention has been paid to proteomics, and the composition of bee venom peptides has been studied to the greatest extent.