Honeybee Venom, Apis Mellifera, as a Means of Prevention and Protection From Radiation-Induced Damage to Living Organisms

This work aimed to study the radioprotective effect of the venom of the honeybee Apis mellifera L. caucasica during a single γ-irradiation of mice with 60Co in doses of D = 1, 3, 5, 7, 10 Gy at a dose rate of 1 Gy/min. The material of the study was ecologically pure whole venom collected from bees from apiaries located in the ecologically clean territory of Azerbaijan, and venom irradiated with small doses of gamma radiation. The experiments were conducted in 5 series of experiments in vitro on 3-month-old white mice weighing 18-22 grams. We have examined the prevention of radiation damage to experimental animals from honeybee venom, which occurs during external irradiation of mice. Experimental mice were injected intramuscularly with bee venom at a dose of 0.1, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.5 mg/kg of body weight and after 24 hours were subjected to a single γ-irradiation with 60Co at a dose of D = 1, 3, 5 and 7 Gy at a dose rate of 1 Gy/min. An increase in the total number of surviving animals was noted in all studied groups; however, the nature of the change in the lifespan of mice differs both from the method of administration and from the time of administration of the poison after γ-irradiation with 60Co. The survival rate of experimental groups of mice, compared to the control group, with a single intraperitoneal or intramuscular injection 24 hours after the introduction of the venom, increased within the range from 33% to 56% and from 35% to 50%, respectively. We believe that the radioprotective effect of bee venom is associated with the formation of a non-specific adaptation reaction. With intraperitoneal or intramuscular fractional administration of the poison followed by a single γ-irradiation of 60Co at a dose of D = 1, 3, 5 and 7 Gy at a dose rate of 1 Gy/min, an increase in the life expectancy of the experimental groups of mice was noted within the range from 33% to 56% and from 53% to 75%. With a single (24 hours) intraperitoneal or intramuscular injection of the poison, the life expectancy of the experimental groups of mice increased by 35% to 50% and 52% to 66%, respectively.