Melittin, a Potential Natural Toxin of Crude Bee Venom: Probable Future Arsenal in the Treatment of Diabetes Mellitus

Table 2

In vivo studies of DM based on BV.

Venom source	Animal model	Duration	Dose	Outcomes	Year, reference
BV from Sigma, MO, USA	Mice	25 weeks	0.5 mg/kg	(i) Inhibited insulitis; (ii) Inhibited onset and cumulative incidence of diabetes	1999 [20]
Iranian Honey BV (Apis mellifera)	Lewis rats	4 months	0.5 mg/kg	(i) Increased serum insulin level; (ii) Decreased serum triglyceride contents; (iii) Decreased serum total cholesterol	2012 [21]
Apis cerana BV	Human	30 minutes	Apis cerana bees () sting the groups individually	(i) Decreased blood sugar; (ii) Decreased blood cholesterol; (iii) Decreased blood triglyceride contents; (iv) Increased eosinophil count	2014 [22]
Mongolian BV (Apis mellifera)	Rabbits	14 days	A bee sting (contains 0.2–0.5 mL of BV)	(i) Decreased blood glucose levels; (ii) Decreased blood cholesterol levels; (iii) Decreased low density lipoproteins; (iv) Increased high density lipoproteins	2015 [23]