Melittin is the core component and main bioactive substance of bee venom, accounting for about 40%-50% of the dry weight of bee venom. Melittin is strongly alkaline and soluble in water. It is one of the most powerful anti-inflammatory substances known to people at present, and has the following effects.
1, antibacterial and antiviral
Melittin can limit the growth and reproduction of more than 20 kinds of Gram-negative and positive pathogenic microorganisms, especially melittin can resist penicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and the minimal inhibitory concentration of melittin against Staphylococcus aureus is 0.0156ug/ml. Experimental typhoid fever in guinea pigs can be treated by subcutaneous injection of 0.11-2.2mg melittin. In addition, melittin has certain antibacterial activity against many fungi without damaging eukaryotic cells.
2. Anti-radiation
Melittin instead of whole bee venom can not only prevent radiation, but also have therapeutic effect. Melittin with high purity can significantly improve the radioprotective effect, which is significantly different from that of whole bee venom.
3. Anti-tumor
Melittin has membrane activity, directly lyses the phospholipid membrane of cells, inhibits cell growth and development, and has a strong cytotoxic effect on tumor cells. Melittin has a small molecular weight and low antigenicity, which is difficult to cause allergic reactions. It can damage the cell membrane and cause cell death without entering the cell, and its destruction of tumor cells can be reflected outside the cell.
Nowadays, melittin can be obtained by chemical synthesis, separation and purification from crude bee venom, and biological engineering.
Chemical synthesis: Chemical synthesis can be used to obtain pure melittin with biological activity, but due to the high cost, it is not suitable for the production of melittin, and its practical application is relatively rare.
Separation and purification: Separation and purification from crude bee venom is the main way to obtain pure melittin. The separation and purification method is based on chromatographic theory and integrates other extraction processes, which can reduce operation cost and improve yield and purity.
Bioengineering: This method can induce melittin gene expression in engineered bacteria, and then collect and purify the expressed protein to obtain pure melittin. Direct expression of melittin in engineered bacteria is difficult due to its membrane-damaging and cytolethal properties. Therefore, by expressing melittin fusion protein in engineered bacteria, scientists have carried out a lot of research on the selection and later separation and purification of fusion protein, and finally made a great breakthrough.
Post time: Sep-02-2024