Effect of Apitherapy in Piglets with Preweaning Diarrhea

Abstract

This study was designed to examine the therapeutic effect of honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) venom in piglets with bacterial diarrhea Comparison between bee venom- and drug-treated groups was our main concern in the present study. Preweaning piglets were assigned to treated and non-treated control groups. In the treated group, 47 piglets were acupunctured with the worker honeybee once a day for three consecutive days. Two acupoints, GV-1 (Jiao-chao) and ST-25 (Hai-men), were selected for apitherapy. In the control group, 44 piglets were intramuscularly injected with a standard dose of a known antibacterial drug, colistin sulfate (300,000 IU/kg of body weight), and an antidiarrheal drug (berberine, 2 ml/kg) once a day for three consecutive days. At post-treatment, 90.9% of the control piglets and 93.6% of piglets in the treated group recovered from bacterial diarrhea. Bee acupuncture therapy did not show any side effects such as allergy, intoxication, hemorrhage or infection. It is concluded that bee venom therapy was effective in controlling bacterial diarrhea in preweaning piglets.

Berberine reduces both MMP-9 and EMMPRIN expression through prevention of p38 pathway activation in PMA-induced macrophages

“…Berberine has been used in Chinese traditional medicine to treat diarrhea and gastrointestinal disorders [29] for centuries in China and Korea. While it has been most commonly used in treating diarrhea, as an anti-tumor agent [13], or as an antimicrobial agent [14], some reports support its wide potential biological properties in treating other human diseases.…”

Suppression of oxLDL‐Induced MMP‐9 and EMMPRIN Expression by Berberine via Inhibition of NF‐κB Activation in Human THP‐1 Macrophages

“…Berberine has been used to treat diarrhea and gastrointestinal disorders in Chinese traditional medicine (Choi et al, 2003). Recently, Doggrell et al (2005) and Kong et al (2004) described the cholesterol-lowering property of berberine.…”

The Antifungal Activity of Bee Venom against Dermatophytes

“…Apitherapy which uses live honeybee stings has elucidated therapeutic value for piglets, calves and dairy cows with several respiratory diseases in Korea (Choi et al, 2003).…”