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Objectives: Nowadays cancer treatment is an important challenge in the medical world that needs better therapies. Many active secretions produced by insects such as honey bees used to discover new anticancer drugs. Bee venom (BV) has a potent anti inflamma- tory, anti cancer and tumor effects. The aim of present study is evaluation of anticancer effects induced by Apis mellifera venom (AmV) on cell Lines.Methods: AmV was selected for study on cancer cell lines. Total protein, molecular weight and LD50 of crude venom were determined. Then, cells were grown in Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum and 1% antibiotics. The A549, HeLa and MDA-MB-231 cell Lines were exposed by different concentration of AmV. The morphology of cells was determined and cell viability was studed by MTT assay. Evaluation of cell death was determined by and DNA fragmentation.Results: The results from MTT assay showed that 3.125 µg/mL of A549, 12.5 for HeLa and 6.25 µg/mL of MDA-MB-231 killed 50% of cells (p < 0.05). Morphological analysis and the results from hoescht staining and DNA fragmentation indicated that cell death induced by AmV was significantly apoptosis.Conclusion: The data showed that using lower dosage of AmV during treatment period cause inhibition of proliferation in time and dose dependant manner. Findings indicated that some ingredients of AmV have anticancer effects and with further investigation it can be used in production of anticancer drugs.

Background: In recent years, the number of people with cancer has increased. For this reason, different drugs have been suggested for the treatment of cancer, but none of them has resulted in complete remission. Many bio-toxins are biologically active compounds with anticancer activity. In the meantime, bee venom (BV) has a potent anti cancer and tumor effects. The aim of present study is evaluation of BV anticancer effects on breast cancer cell line (MDA-MB-231). Methods: Crude bee venom was obtained from Apis mellifera and the amount of its protein was determined. MDA-MB-231 cancer cell line was cultured and then the cells were exposed to 1.56, 3.125, 3.25, 6.25, 12.5, 25 and 50 µg/ml of bee venom for 24 and 48 h, respectively. The morphology and apoptosis were evaluated and cell viability was determinedby MTT assay. Results: MTT assay showed that BV at concentration 6.25 µg/ml for MDA-MB-231 killed 50% of cells (p