This study was conducted in order to examine the safety of bee venom as an alternative for antibiotics using male ICR mice. Five-week-old male mice received a single intravenous injection of a dried honey bee venom at the concentration of 0.25 mg/kg (a clinical dose) or 0.5 mg/kg through the tail vein and various pathophysiological analyses were performed after three days. No significant differences in changes of body weight were observed between the saline-treated control group and the experimental groups. In the hematological analysis, none of the parameters were affected by bee venom. In blood biochemistry analysis, none of the markers were affected by administration of bee venom. Similarly, there were no significant effects on markers for liver, kidney, and skeletal muscle functions in all treated- groups. On macroscopic examination, no remarkable lesions were detected in these organs. Because there were no adverse effects of the bee venom in a single intravenous toxicity test for three days, it was concluded that bee venom could be a candidate for a safe natural antibiotic for use in the animal production industry.

• Hu Jang Lee(Department of Environmental Health, Graduate School of Public Health, Institute of Animal Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Gyeongsang National University) Corresponding author
• Chun-Nam Cha(Engineering Research Institute, Department of Industrial Systems Engineering)
• Yeo-Eun Lee(Department of Environmental Health, Graduate School of Public Health)
• In-Jin Kang(Department of Environmental Health, Graduate School of Public Health)
• Suk Kim(Institute of Animal Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Gyeongsang National University)