Search

The use of bee venom (Apis mellifera L., BV) occasionally causes side effects such as inflammation and allergic reactions in the recipients. Several case reports also suggested the treatment of BV has some limitations in its clinical uses, due to the occurrence of dermal necrosis and anaphylatic reactions. It is generally understood that bee venom allergy is mainly the result of its allergic component, phospholipase A2 (PLA2). The present study was aimed to generate PLA2-free bee venom (PBV) and evaluate its efficacy as skin care and cosmetic preparation, comparing with original bee venom (BV). Our results showed that both BV and PBV exhibited significant protective effects in UVB-irradiated human keratinocyte (HaCaT) and human dermal fibroblast (HDF) cells and they also induced type I collagen synthesis in UVB-irradiated HDF cells except BV at 3 μg/ml. Furthermore, BV and PBV showed the inhibition of UVB-stimulated matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1), a major collagen degrading enzyme in skin. However, BV, unlike PBV, exhibited strong cytotoxicities in skin cells (both HaCaT and HDF) at its working concentrations of anti-wrinkle effect. The underlying cell signaling mechanisms of anti-wrinkle effects of BV and PBV were demonstrated by the activation of ERK1/2, and p38. Conclusively, PBV appears to be the bee venom of choice with less cytotoxicity and higher efficacy on UVB-irradiated skin cells in comparison with original bee venom (BV). Therefore, PBV can better be used as a cosmetic ingredient exhibiting excellent anti-wrinkle effect against photoaging than original BV.

The effects of concentration, pressure, and molecular sige on removing allergenic substance (phospholipase A2) in bee venom by ultrafiltration were investigated. The membrane pore sizes were selected based on the molecular weight of the main compounds. The conditions of concentration and pressure were selected randomly. As results, we obtained the optimum condition (1 mg/mL, 20 psi, 10,000 dalton) for removing PLA2 at constant concentration of melittin and apamin and confirmed the separation results by HPLC and SDS-PAGE. 요 약: 한외여과법을 이용하여 봉독의 알러지 원인성분인 PLA2를 제거하기 위하여 압력, 농도, 분자크 기의 영향을 조사하였다. 봉독의 주요성분 분자량을 바탕으로 한외여과막의 투과크기를 선정하고 농도 와 압력을 달리하였다. 그 결과, melittin과 apamin 함량은 유지되면서 PLA2를 제거하는 최적조건(1 mg/mL, 20 psi, 10,000 dalton)을 찾았으며, 이를 HPLC와 SDS-PAGE로 확인하였다.