Abstract

Acne vulgaris is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the sebaceous follicles.Propionibacterium acnes plays a critical role in the development of these inflammatory lesions. The present study was conducted to evaluate the antimicrobial property of honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) venom (BV) against the etiologic agents of acne vulgaris. Incubation of the skin bacteria P. acnes, clindamycin-resistant P. acnes, Staphylococcus epidermidis or Streptococcus pyrogenes with BV yielded the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC). Production of inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-8 (IL-8) and tumor necrosis factor- α (TNF-α)) were examined in THP-1 cells. BV MIC values were 0.086, 0.067, 0.104 and 0.121 µg /ml against P. acnes, clindamycin-resistant P. acnes, S. epidermidis, and S. pyrogenes, respectively. In time-kill studies, BV was bacteriostatic in action. In addition, BV exhibited low cytotoxicity at 10 µg /ml in human epidermal keratinocytes and monocytes. In addition, BV reduced the P. acnes-induced secretion of IL-8 and TNF-α in THP-1 cells, an indication of its anti-inflammatory effects. Based on these results, BV has effective antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity against P. acnes, and we suggest that BV is an alternative treatment for antibiotic therapy of acne vulgaris.

Key words: Bee venom, acne, Propionibacterium acnes, IL-8, TNF-α.