by Mihály Simics
Copyright
© 1999 by Mihály Simics. All rights reserved.
Excerpts from Simics, M.: Basic Bee Venom in
Products - Internet Apitherapy Course.
Apitherapy Education Service,
Richmond, BC., Canada, 1999.
HOW TO USE THIS PAPER
This paper contains
many new definitions and words you may not be familiar with. Before you begin
the body of the paper, read the Glossary first and become familiar of the
terms. The words and definitions are in alphabetical order. Once you feel
confident start to read the paper. If you have any unanswered question, you are
most welcomed to contact me directly.
DISCLAIMER
The venom of the honeybee may
cause an allergic reaction in some individuals. Information on the products
listed herein is for educational purposes only and is not intended to be
interpreted or used for self diagnosis or self medication. In any case, seek
the advise of a licensed health practitioner who is qualified to make such
diagnoses and recommendations for treatment.
Warning: Exposure to bee venom may cause asthma
and/or a life threatening allergic reaction.
BEE VENOM
Bee venom is synthesized in the
venom glands of worker and queen honeybees and stored in their venom sacs.
During the stinging process it is expressed through the sting apparatus. Bees
use stinging behavior in defence of the colony. When made into products, bee
venom is used and processed in three different forms: Apis mellifica or
Honeybee, Apis Virus or Honeybee Poison and Apis Venenum Purum or
Pure Honeybee Venom. Apis mellifica and Apis Virus are the Latin
names of Honeybee and Honeybee Poison, respectively. They are described in a
number of official drug and homoeopathic monographs (Pharmacopoeia). In lists
of ingredients of products these official names are used. In literature, these
names or their synonyms are mentioned. The Apis Venenum Purum or Pure
Honeybee Venom is the contemporary name of Apis Virus in the
Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States which is an official monograph.
Throughout this publication the Latin names of the different venom forms are
used for identification.
APIS MELLIFICA
Apis mellifica is obtained by placing a specified number or amount of live bees into a clean stoppered bottle and irritating them. A specified amount of dilutent is added and the mixture is allowed to macerate for 8-10 days: it is shaken twice daily. The solution is strained and filtered. This tincture is called the Mother Tincture. The symbol for this is Q (theta). It is diluted further to the desired potencies. The tincture contains bee venom, animal fluids, honey and pollen. The strength of the tincture varies depending of the age of bees, the season they are obtained, the nectar and pollen sources. This tincture is also known as “whole body extract.”
Product Forms
The diluted and potentiated
Mother Tincture is used in the preparation of capsules, creams, drops,
embrocations, granules, injections, liniments, liquids, ointments, tablets and
other product forms.
Application: Naturopathy, homeopathy and
homeoacupuncture.
| Products | Manufacturer/Country |
| Apis mellifica 1% Salbe | Weleda, Germany |
| Apis-Injeel S injection | Heel, Germany |
| Apis mellifica 6X, 12X, 30X granules | Boiron, USA |
| Apis mellifica D3 injection | Weleda, Germany |
APIS VIRUS
Apis Virus or poison of the honeybee is obtained from live bees by drawing out the stinger with the venom sac attached. A specified number of venom sacs are gathered into a glass tube, the sacs are squeezed into it and mixed with milk sugar. After the venom is fully incorporated into the sugar, it is triturated and converted into liquid potencies. Another preparation method allows the bees to deposit a small amount of venom onto a cube of sugar or a teaspoon of crystal sugar. This process is repeated until enough venom is gathered to start a trituration and conversion. The triturated Apis Virus contains bee venom and animal proteins, which have been squeezed from the venom sacs.
Product Forms
Once Apis Virus is
converted into liquid potencies, it is used in products similar to Apis
mellifica.
Application: Homeopathy, naturopathy, apitherapy, acupuncture and homeoacupuncture. Venom from live bees is used for bee sting therapy. Common administration areas include trigger points (tender spots), acupuncture points and acupressure points.
The application of a carefully removed stinger with fine
tweezers into a specific acupuncture or acupressure point is popular in Japan,
Korea and China. It is called “stinger therapy,” “shaft
therapy” or “lancet therapy.” The venom of one sting is applied
into 3-6 acupuncture points, which provides a safe way of practicing bee venom
therapy.
| Products | Manufacturer/Country |
| Apis Virus 6X, 30X (liquid) | BioPharma, USA |
| Apisinum D5 Ampullen | Weleda, Germany |
APIS VENENUM PURUM
Since 1989, Apis Venenum Purum or Pure Honeybee Venom has been an official monograph of the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States. It provides a more precise preparation of Apis Virus. It is gathered by means of electric shock stimulation (Simics, 1999). Bees come into contact with a collector frame that is covered with a wire grid, receive a mild electrical shock causing them to release their venom. The venom is allowed to air dry and is then gathered and processed. At this time at least four qualities of bee venom can be collected in this manner.
The production of potent bee venom requires good nectar, honey and pollen sources. Consequently, bees have more potent venom during the summer (Beck, 1935; Croft, 1988). Bees raised without pollen have little and less effective venom in their venom sacs.
Bee venom is a colorless liquid that dries to a powder. The color of crystallized venom ranges from white to brownish yellow. The darker color is the result of contamination of the venom and oxidation of its constituents (Piek, 1986). Pure Whole Dried and Whole Dried Bee Venom are usually used in drug preparations.
Pure Whole Dried Bee Venom: It is white in color, has a crystallized powdery appearance, is free of contaminants and is known as Grade I. venom.
Whole Dried Bee Venom: The color of this venom is brownish yellow and may be contaminated with foreign materials. It is referred to as Grade II. venom.
Venom Sacs: The stingers of bees, with their venom sacs attached are deposited by bees into a thick diaphragm. The stingers are removed, dried and the venom extracted.
Liquid Bee Venom: Bees deposit their venom into a suitable liquid. The resulting solution will contain the solids and some of the volatile fractions of the venom.
Product Forms
The collected, processed and
reconstituted bee venom is widely used in the preparation of capsules, creams,
drops, embrocations, granules, powders, injections, liniments, liquids,
ointments and tablets.
Application: Allopathic medicine, naturopathy, osteopathy, homeopathy, homeoacupuncture and apitherapy. It is now exclusively used in bee venom allergy treatment. In an injection form it is the closest one can get to the effect of venom from live bees. Known amounts of powdered venom in products allows for established standard treatment protocols to measure the effect of venom (Simics, 1999).
| Product | Manufacturer/Country |
| Cinnabar Compound Powder | Weleda, USA |
| Apis Venenum Purum 5X - liquid | Apitronic, Canada |
| VeneX, BVS | Apitronic, Canada |
EFFICACY OF BEE VENOM IN
PRODUCTS
There are heated discussions about the efficacy and
potency of bee venom as found in its many forms in a variety of products. Bee
venom seems to be the most potent when it comes directly from the stinger of a
live bee. However, this observation can only apply to the venom obtained during
the active beekeeping season. Off season bees have less potent venom in their
venom sacs due to poor nutrition. This is an important consideration for those
doing therapy with live bees which come from a locale without a year round
nectar, honey and pollen flow.
The quality of collected bee venom also has its variations in potency and the ratio of its constituents. Bee venom obtained from foraging bees at the entrance of the hive has a higher percentage of Phospholipase and Hyaluronidase causing more noticeable reactions to bee venom. On the other hand, venom from bees of various ages, particularly younger bees inside the hive, contains a wider range of components in the venom, but in lower percentages.
Closer to the effect of the venom from a live bee during the summer season, injectable venom in solution would follow next in efficacy. There is a high correlation between the quality of the venom solution and the quality of the raw material and the method of preparation. Despite difficulties in preparation a high quality solution still remains the best means of treatment in an office environment and the only way to standardize a product for controlled studies and the development of treatment protocols.
Bee venom creams, liniments, ointments and embrocations are popular ways to use bee venom. There are some high quality bee venom creams on the market from which you can expect good results. These include Apireven, Apisarthron and Forapin. These products have been on the market for a long time. The oldest one is Forapin, introduced in 1934.
Tablet, granule and liquid forms of these products are
most widely used in homeopathic preparations of Apis mellifica and Apis Virus
and can be found in homeopathic remedy kits. They contain bee venom in a highly
diluted form only and are considered safe to use (Kottirsch and Becker,
1995).
STANDARDIZATION
The design of a clinical study
or the development of standard treatment protocols to obtain consistent results
requires the use of a known quality and quantity of a medicinal substance to
measure and compare its effect. With bee venom it is not an easy task. The
uniformity of bee venom in products are described in the following
ways:
Apis Mellifica
The source of bees, their age,
the quantity of venom in the venom sac and its potency varies from time to
time. As a result, the strength of Mother Tincture as the source of further
dilutions is highly variable. Once the Mother Tincture is prepared, the
potencies are known and its preparation follows the standard decimal or
centesimal scale.
Apis Virus
Its standardization is similar to
Apis mellifica. After the trituration and conversion into liquid potencies the
preparation is the same as Apis mellifica. The triturated Apis Virus contains
less undesirable substances such as honey, pollen or body fluid. Different
potencies are most frequently prepared on the decimal and centesimal
scale.
Apis Venenum Purum
This is the form of bee
venom that is the most suitable for apitherapy and product development. It is
pure, its constituents can be measured, its toxicity is known, it can be
obtained in large quantities and is suitable for pharmaceutical application.
There is no universally accepted standard for the determination of the quantity
of venom in a product. Manufacturers or the health authorities in a particular
country set their own standards. Product standards are based on enzyme
activity, toxicity, Dried Venom Sac Equivalent (DVSE) and number of components
in the venom or their combination.
GLOSSARY
Acupuncture Points: Specific
sites on the body located under the skin and distributed over the Fourteen
Meridians, Extraordinary Points and Ashi Points.
Acupuncture: Chinese
treatment whereby needles are inserted into specific points on the body to
stimulate healing.
Apilaser Therapy: The painless photobiomodulation:
Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) or Low Intensity Laser Therapy (LILT) assisted
application of topical apiceuticals to enhance local penetration of such, and
normalize functions in the living being.
Apis Mellifica: Honeybee.
Remedy made from the whole body of the honeybee.
Apis Venenum Purum:
Homeopathic remedy. New term in homeopathy for Pure Honeybee Venom that is
collected by electrical shock method and used in preparations in place of Apis
Virus.
Apis Virus: Homeopathic term for bee venom that is gathered
from the venom gland (sac) of honey bees by removing their
stingers.
Centesimal Scale: Subsequent dilution of a remedy on a 1
to100 scale. Marked with letter C or CH.
Decimal Scale: Subsequent
dilution of a remedy on a 1 to 10 scale. Marked with letter X or D.
Dried
Venom Sac Equivalent (DVSE): The classical and standard measurement of
dried venom contents of a honeybee. It is equivalent to 0.1 mg of dried bee
venom per venom sac. The latest research has indicated that an average venom
sac contains about 40-50% more venom.
Electrical Shock Stimulation: A
widely used bee venom collection method to stimulate honeybees to deposit their
venom on a surface from which it is later gathered and
processed.
Embrocation: Lotion or liniment (liquid) like preparation
that contains medicinal substances for topical
application.
Homeopathy: The use of small amounts of natural
substance(s) to stimulate a natural healing response in the
body.
Maceration: Application of a process without heat to
incorporate softened organic origin into liquid.
Monograph: A paper
on a single subject or a group of objects that have a commonality.
Mother
Tincture: Alcoholic or hydroalcoholic solution of a medicinal substance
that represents 1/10 of the original medicinal substance in the vehicle.
Symbol: Q (theta). Q=1X or
1D.
Pharmacopoeia: A standard book containing information about
resources, identification, descriptions, preparation and standardization of
drugs. The name originates from the Greek words “Pharmacon,” means a
drug and “poieo,” means to make.
Potency:
“Strength” of remedy.
Potentization: Preparation of a
remedy by serial dilution and shaking.
Remedy: A substance which
cures diseases or relieves its symptoms.
Solution: Tincture or
homogenous state of one or more substances in a sufficiant quantity of
dissolving agent.
Succussion: Vigorous shaking with impact of a
diluted remedy.
Trigger Points: Tender spots.
Tincture:
Alcoholic or hydroalcoholic solution of a medicinal
substance.
Trituration: A method of preparation of a remedy by which
a fine powdery medicinal substance otherwise insoluble in water or alcohol is
ground with milk sugar.
Vehicles: A chemically neutral solid, liquid
or semi-solid substance in which medicines are mixed or prepared.
Venom
Sac: Its purpose is to store the venom of the bee. It is directly connected
to the stinger through the channel.
Virus: Contagion or
poison.
REFERENCES
Beck, B. F. (1935) Bee Venom
Therapy - Bee Venom, Its Nature, and Its Effect on Arthritic and Rheumatoid
Conditions, D. Appleton-Century Company, Inc., New York
Croft, L. R.
(1988) Allergy to Bee Stings and Its Prevention. Elmwood Medical Monographs,
ISBN 0-946019-03-7, p. 103
Kottirsch, M. and Becker, J. (1995)
Honeybee As a Remedy in Homeopathy. The XXXIVth International Beekeeping
Congress - Lausanne, Apimondia Publishing House, Romania, pp.
390-392
Piek, T. (Ed.) (1986) Venoms of the Hymenoptera. Academic
Press. Inc., New York, NY, USA, ISBN 0-12-554771-4
Simics, M. (1999)
Bee Venom Products - Excerpts from “Apis Venenum Purum.” Apitherapy
Education Service - Apitronic Services, Richmond, BC, Canada, booklet, tables,
pp. 10.
———, (1999) Bee Venom Collector Devices.
Apitronic Services, Richmond, BC, Canada, booklet, drawings, pp.
28.
Copyright © 2002-2005
Mihály Simics. All Rights Reserved.
Apitronic
Services, 9611 No. 4 Road, Richmond, B.C., Canada, V7A 2Z1, Ph./Fax (604)
271-9414
e-mail: msimics@direct.ca |
http://www.apivet.net |
http://www.beevenom.net |
http://www.apitherapy.net |
http://www.corp.direct.ca/beevenom/