Melittin

Melittin is the principal active component of bee venom, and is a powerful anti-inflammatory substance said to be 100 times more potent than hydrocortisone. Melittin is a peptide consisting of 26 amino acids. It also exhibits potent anti-microbial activity. For example, Melittin has been shown to exert "profound inhibitory effects" on Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria that causes lyme disease (Lubke & Garon, 1997). Melittin has also been shown to kill the yeast Candida albicans (Klotz et al, 2004) and to suppress Mycoplasma hominis and Chlamydia trachomatis infections (Lazarev et al, 2005, 2004, 2002).