Biochemical and Physicochemical Properties of Honey Bee Venom, Apis Mellifer

This work aimed to study the influence of environmental pollutants on the biochemical and physicochemical characteristics of honey bee venom. When studying the activity of phospholipase A2, the research material was samples of honeybee venom (Apis mellifera), collected from bees in apiaries in the vicinity of the cities of Baku, Sumgait, and Zakatalli in the spring. The activity of the enzyme phospholipase A2 in the venom was determined by the titrimetric method. As a result of the conducted studies, it was revealed that the activity of phospholipase in the venom collected in the vicinity of the city of Baku, Sumgait and Zakatalla is 134.7 IU/mg, 155.7 IU/mg and 183.7 IU/mg, respectively The absorption bands of the stretching vibrations of the N-H, O-H, ≡C-H, S-H groups in the frequency range of 3675, 3420, 2963, 2918cm-1 in the IR spectra of the poison and the stretching vibrations of hydrogen associated with the saturated carbon atom in the CH2 groups in the frequency range of 1385 cm-1 were identified. It was experimentally established that the lowest activity of phospholipase A2 was found in the vicinity of Baku (134.7 IU/mg), the highest in Zakatally (183.7 IU/mg, P˂0.001). Revealed in the frequency range of 1733, 1653 1295,1250 cm-1, stretching vibrations of cumulated bonds are also noted - C = N, C=C; C=O. In the infrared spectra of the studied samples, stretching vibrations of OH groups in the range of 617,525,419 cm-1 and deformation vibrations of OH groups in the range of 1540 cm-1 were obtained. At present, it has been possible to isolate many biologically active substances of animal origin and study their biochemical, physicochemical, pharmacological, and toxicological properties. The study of biochemical, physicochemical properties of apitoxin is of great importance in developing conditions for radiation sterilization of both the venom and preparations based on them, which is the basis of the concept and strategy for the rational use of bioresources, one of the components of which in Azerbaijan is the honey bee.