A great example of forward medicine can be taken from an age-old anti-inflammatory substance extracted from bee products. The well-known naturopathic and homeopathic substance Apis. This substance extracted from honey requires massive invasion of bee hives in general like most of the bee-products used in natural medicine; such as, Royal jelly supplements for example. Large volumes of an extract requiring significant technique, not to mention invasiveness to bees’ environment are required to produce enough base extracts to formulate the finished products. Large scale beehives need to be in place, and there is no quality control within the environment where bees are travelling and pollinating, bringing potential pollutants to the end product.
Research into proteins and peptides from nature on the other hand, can evolve well-known natural medicines into potent modern medicines. With our forward technology we can synthesize the main constituent bee product that performs anti-inflammatory functions like Apis, effortlessly and with more potency. A protein called mellitin, for example, can be synthesized from an extremely small amount of bee venom. One bee can provide a veritable supply for a commercial production. Once the synthesized peptide in hand, many medications can be manufactured at low cost with non-polluting techniques and quality control.
Today Mellitin, as a synthesized peptide, is used as a signaling molecule to quell inflammation and to defuse cancer pathways. Ongoing research world-wide, including at IICE, is showing much promise for the use of this complex molecule as an adjuvant in cancer therapy. In Dr Serrentino’s research on antinociceptive peptides and proteins we have seen beneficial interactions with certain drugs and metabolic proteins that may have potential for important disease and pain therapies.