Apis mellifera Venom Inhibits Bacterial and Fungal Pathogens in vitro

Elsayed K. Bakhiet, Hosni A.M. Hussien and Mohamed Elshehaby

Background and Objective: Bacterial and fungal infections are major public health problems. Emerging of drug-resistant microbial strains urges the need for the development of alternative untraditional antimicrobial agents. Bee venom is a rich source of secondary metabolites and antimicrobial agents. In this study, the antimicrobial and antifungal potential of Apis mellifera BV (AmBV) against some medically important bacterial and fungal pathogens was investigated. Materials and Methods: Broth microdilution method and Colony Forming Unit (CFU) assay were used to screen the antibacterial potential of AmBV. Similarly, the antifungal activity of AmBV was evaluated using the agar-well diffusion assay. Moreover, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of AmBV against tested microorganisms were determined. Results: AmBV significantly inhibited bacterial and fungal growth. The MIC values of AmBV were 15.625, 31.25, 7.8, 7.8 μg mL^–1 against Escherichia coli ATCC 8739, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538P, Serratia marcescens AUH 98 and Streptococcus mutans ATCC 25175, respectively. Similarly, AmBV at concentrations of 300 and 600 μg mL^–1 significantly inhibited the growth of Aspergillus niger ATCC 16404, Alternaria alternata MLBM09, Fusarium oxysporum MLBM212 and Aspergillus flavus. Conclusion: These results indicated that AmBV could be used in future preclinical and clinical studies to develop cost-effective and efficient antibacterial and antifungal agents. Moreover, this study presents AmBV as an efficient alternative antimicrobial agent against medically important pathogens.

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