Pharmacological effects and mechanisms of bee venom and its main components: Recent progress and perspective

Bee venom (BV), a type of defensive venom, has been confirmed to have favorable activities, such as anti-tumor, neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-infectivity effects, etc. This study reviewed the recent progress on the pharmacological effects and mechanisms of BV and its main components against cancer, neurological disorders, inflammatory diseases, pain, microbial diseases, liver, kidney, lung and muscle injury, and other diseases in literature during the years 2018-2021. The related target proteins of BV and its main components against the diseases include Akt, mTOR, JNK, Wnt-5 alpha, HIF-1 alpha, NF-kappa B, JAK2, Nrf2, BDNF, Smad2/3, AMPK, and so on, which are referring to PI3K/Akt/mTOR, MAPK, Wnt/beta-catenin, HIF-1 alpha, NF-kappa B, JAK/STAT, Nrf2/HO-1, TrkB/CREB/BDNF, TGF-beta/Smad2/3, and AMPK signaling pathways, etc. Further, with the reported targets, the potential effects and mechanisms on diseases were bioinformatically predicted via Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway, disease ontology semantic and enrichment (DOSE) and protein-protein interaction (PPI) analyses. This review provides new insights into the therapeutic effects and mechanisms of BV and its main components on diseases.

Automated summary

This study reviewed the recent progress in the pharmacological effects and mechanisms of bee venom (BV) and its main components against various diseases. It identified the target proteins and signaling pathways involved, and bioinformatically predicted the potential effects and mechanisms on diseases. The review provides new insights into the therapeutic effects of BV and its main components.