Determining the amount of changes in the main components of honey ‎bee venom in three seasons and several geographical areas of Iran

Honey bees are small insects with many useful products. Venom is one of these products with therapeutic benefits and high commercial value. Many factors affect the bee venom and its main components, namely Melittin, Apamine and Phospholipase A2. This study investigates the effect of seasonal and geographical location on the venom composition in 8 cities, during three seasons of spring, summer and autumn, in a completely randomized design with 4 replications(hives). Analysis of venom samples from the target areas in different seasons by HPLC showed that the mentioned components, other than apamine (correlation=0.339), had no correlation with temperature. The mean amount of Protein, Melittin and Phospholipase A2 of the treatments did not differ significantly during the 3 seasons (p>0.05). The mean percentage of melittin (63.15 %) and phospholipase A2 (8.19 %) in spring; apamine (4.03 %) and protein (48.89 µg/100mg) were maximum in summer. The highest amount of Protein and Apamin in the venom was related to karaj (50.28% and 4.33% respectively), the highest amount of Melittin in khoramabad city and the highest Phospholipase A2 was in birjand city. The effects of season have on venom components through temperature can be in addition to the direct effect on honey bees and venom production glands, through the effect on vegetation of area or the presence of seasonal changes in the venom components in addition to the effect of geographical location, a reflection of the difference in vegetation.