Installation of standard apiary focused on production bioproducts (bee venom) and its use in human health

• Grant number: 12/23466-2
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: May 01, 2013
• End date: April 30, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Animal Production
• Principal Investigator: Ricardo de Oliveira Orsi
• Grantee: Ricardo de Oliveira Orsi
• Host Institution: Centro de Estudos de Venenos e Animais Peçonhentos (CEVAP). Centro Virtual de Toxinologia. Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Ary Fernandes Júnior ; Benedito Barraviera ; Daniel Carvalho Pimenta ; Lucilene Delazari dos Santos ; Rui Seabra Ferreira Junior

Abstract

The brazilian beekeeping began in 1840 when were introduced the european bees Apis mellifera mellifera (black ou german bees), Apis mellifera carnica, Apis mellifera caucasica and Apis mellifera ligustica (italian bees). In 1956, with the aim of increasing the endurance and productivity, african queen bees Apis mellifera scutellata were brought to apiaries in Rio Claro, São Paulo state. Accidentally, 26 colonies swarmed and were distributed across the country initiating the apicultural squad africanization of Americas. These hybrid bees, named africanized, although it is very productive, are also very defensive, posing a risk to humans and animals, causing sometimes serious and fatal accidents. Despite a significant economic progress in the national beekeeping, there are still shortcomings and opportunities for improvement on apiaries management, increased of swarms productivity, in the isolation of antibacterial molecules as potential candidates (melittin, for example) and the knowledge of their action mechanisms on the immune system. Furthermore, the study of apitoxin components is extremely important in the development of a safe and effective apicultural serum for ill patients and injured animals treatment. However, the apitoxin composition may be influenced by the environment, as for example, the food available to bees in the apiary surroundings. Thus, for the establishment of an effective apicultural serum, it becomes essential to obtain a known feedstock. In this sense, the staff of the Center of Study of Venoms and Venomous Animals of UNESP (CEVAP) has extensive experience in the apiaries management and biochemical, immunological and pharmacological study of bee venom (apitoxin). Briefly, this project proposes the following actions: 1) Install and maintain a standard apiary in native forest environment, with a view to producing quality bee venom for research use; 2) Evaluate the best time and period collection of apitoxin and verify which procedure causes less stress to hives, using gene expression as a tool; 3) To Evaluate the seasonality effect on the quantitative production and qualitative composition of bee venom, checking if there is a correlation with the food consumed by the bees throughout the year; 4) To determine the effect of different blossoms (orange, eucalyptus and sylvatic) in the qualitative composition of bee venom; 5) Isolate, identify and characterize differentially proteins expressed by activated macrophages from mice Swiss challenged by melittin; 6)Determine the immunomodulatory activity in vitro of melittin peptide in macrophages of mice Swiss; 7) Determine the melittin antibacterial activity with a view to producing candidate molecules for the treatment of diseases caused by Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923), Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) and Helicobacter pylori. These proposals, in case of experimental success, may be employed in clinical trials phase I, after approval by the Ethics Committee in Research, given that until now neither the doctors nor veterinarians have these therapeutic alternatives available. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

MODANESI, M. S.; KADRI, S. M.; RIBOLLA, P. E. M.; ALONSO, D. P.; ORSI, R. O.. Period and Time of Harvest Affects the Apitoxin Production in Apis mellifera Lineu (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Bees and Expression of Defensin Stress Related Gene. Sociobiology, v. 62, n. 1, p. 52-55, MAR 2015. (12/23466-2)