Update on the status of Africanized honey bees in the western states.
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The Africanized honey bee (AHB), Apis mellifera scutella--perhaps better known as the "killer bee"--has arrived in the western United States and in southern California, following a nearly 50-year north-ward migration across South and Central America. First detected near Hidalgo, Texas in October 1993, the bees continue to advance 100 to 300 miles per year by colonizing existing hives or forming new hives in the wild. Although the AHB's "killer" reputation has been greatly exaggerated, the presence of AHBs will increase the chances of people being stung. (+info)
Primary structure and properties of the cathepsin G/chymotrypsin inhibitor from the larval hemolymph of Apis mellifera.
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A member of the Ascaris inhibitor family exhibiting anti-cathepsin G and anti-chymotrypsin activity was purified from the larval hemolymph of the honey bee (Apis mellifera). Three forms of the inhibitor, designated AMCI 1-3, were isolated using gel filtration and anion-exchange chromatographies followed by reverse-phase HPLC. The amino-acid analyses indicated that AMCI-1 and AMCI-2 have an identical composition whereas AMCI-3 is shorter by two residues (Thr, Arg). All three forms contain as many as 10 cysteine residues and lack tryptophan, tyrosine, and histidine. The sequence of the isoinhibitors showed that the major form (AMCI-1) consisting of 56 amino-acid residues was a single-chain protein of molecular mass 5972 Da, whereas the other two forms were two-chain proteins with a very high residue identity. The AMCI-2 appeared to be derived from AMCI-1, as a result of the Lys24-Thr25 peptide bond splitting, while AMCI-3 was truncated at its N-terminus by the dipeptide Thr25-Arg26. The association constants for the binding of bovine alpha-chymotrypsin to all purified forms of the inhibitor were high and nearly identical, ranging from 4.8 x 10(10) M-1 for AMCI-1 to 2.7 x 10(9) M-1 for AMCI-3. The sensitivity of cathepsin G to inhibition by each inhibitor was different. Only the association constant for the interaction of this enzyme with AMCI-1 was high (2 x 10(8) M-1) whereas those for AMCI-2 and AMCI-3 were significantly lower, and appeared to be 3.7 x 10(7) M-1 and 4.5 x 10(6) M-1, respectively. The reactive site of the inhibitor, as identified by cathepsin G degradation and chemical modification, was found to be at Met30-Gln31. A search in the Protein Sequence Swiss-Prot databank revealed a significant degree of identity (44%) between the primary structure of AMCI and the trypsin isoinhibitor from Ascaris sp (ATI). On the basis of the cysteine residues alignment, the position of the reactive site as well as some sequence homology, the cathepsin G/chymotrypsin inhibitor from larval hemolymph of the honey bee may be considered to be a member of the Ascaris inhibitor family. (+info)
Antibacterial activity of honey against strains of Staphylococcus aureus from infected wounds.
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The antibacterial action of honey in infected wounds does not depend wholly on its high osmolarity. We tested the sensitivity of 58 strains of coagulase-positive Staphylococcus aureus, isolated from infected wounds, to a pasture honey and a manuka honey. There was little variation between the isolates in their sensitivity to honey: minimum inhibitory concentrations were all between 2 and 3% (v/v) for the manuka honey and between 3 and 4% for the pasture honey. Thus, these honeys would prevent growth of S. aureus if diluted by body fluids a further seven-fold to fourteen-fold beyond the point where their osmolarity ceased to be completely inhibitory. The antibacterial action of the pasture honey relied on release of hydrogen peroxide, which in vivo might be reduced by catalase activity in tissues or blood. The action of manuka honey stems partly from a phytochemical component, so this type of honey might be more effective in vivo. Comparative clinical trials with standardized honeys are needed. (+info)
Effect of honey on multidrug resistant organisms and its synergistic action with three common antibiotics.
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A total of 15 bacterial strains (7 Pseudomonas & 8 Klebsiella species) isolated from various samples which showed multi-drug resistance were studied to verify in vitro antibacterial action of honey on the principle of Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) & its synergism with 3 common antibiotics--Gentamicin, Amikacin & Ceftazidime. The MIC of honey with saline for both organisms was found to be 1:2. The synergistic action was seen in the case of Pseudomonas spp. and not with Klebsiella spp. (+info)
Pollen spectrum of honey of "urucu" bee (Melipona scutellaris Latreille, 1811).
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In spite of the importance of the "urucu" bee as honey producer of excellent quality, as well, potential pollinator both in agricultural and natural ecosystems, mainly in North-eastern Brazil, just some information is found in literature about sources that such bees utilize to collect nectar and pollen. The identification of the plants visited by Melipona scutellaris was accomplished with base on the analysis of pollen types found in the honey samples collected every two months, from March 1997 to February 1998, in 15 colonies located in Catu, State of Bahia, Brazil (12 degrees 21'00"S, 38 degrees 22'40"W, 76 m of altitude). Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the pollen types were carried out determining the percentage and occurrence classes. Twenty-eight pollen types were found, being considered dominant pollen, the Eucalyptus spp. and Psidium sp. types and secondary pollen, Bauhinia sp., Caesalpinia sp. and Mimosa verrucata types. It was verified dominant pollen of Eucalyptus spp. in honeys produced in November/December 1997 and January/February 1998. The families Caesalpiniaceae (14%), Mimosaceae (25%) and Myrtaceae (56%) were the most represented in the pollen spectrum. (+info)
Systematic review of the use of honey as a wound dressing.
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OBJECTIVE: To investigate topical honey in superficial burns and wounds though a systematic review of randomised controlled trials. DATA SOURCES: Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, reference lists and databases were used to seek randomised controlled trials. Seven randomised trials involved superficial burns, partial thickness burns, moderate to severe burns that included full thickness injury, and infected postoperative wounds. REVIEW METHODS: Studies were randomised trials using honey, published papers, with a comparator. Main outcomes were relative benefit and number-needed-to-treat to prevent an outcome relating to wound healing time or infection rate. RESULTS: One study in infected postoperative wounds compared honey with antiseptics plus systemic antibiotics. The number needed to treat with honey for good wound healing compared with antiseptic was 2.9 (95% confidence interval 1.7 to 9.7). Five studies in patients with partial thickness or superficial burns involved less than 40% of the body surface. Comparators were polyurethane film, amniotic membrane, potato peel and silver sulphadiazine. The number needed to treat for seven days with honey to produce one patient with a healed burn was 2.6 (2.1 to 3.4) compared with any other treatment and 2.7 (2.0 to 4.1) compared with potato and amniotic membrane. For some or all outcomes honey was superior to all these treatments. Time for healing was significantly shorter for honey than all these treatments. The quality of studies was low. CONCLUSION: Confidence in a conclusion that honey is a useful treatment for superficial wounds or burns is low. There is biological plausibility. (+info)
Phase reversal of vibratory signals in honeycomb may assist dancing honeybees to attract their audience.
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Forager honeybees dancing on the comb are able to attract dance-followers from distances across the comb that are too remote for tactile or visual signals to play a role. An alternative signal could be the vibrations of the comb at 200-300 Hz generated by dancing bees but which, without amplification, may not be large enough to alert remote dance-followers. We describe here, however, an unexpected property of honeycomb when it is subjected to vibration at around 200 Hz that would represent an effective amplification of the vibratory signals for remote dance-followers. We find that, at a specific distance from the origin of an imposed vibration, the walls across a single comb cell abruptly reverse the phase of their displacement and move in opposite directions to one another. Behavioural measurements show that the distance from which the majority of remote dance-followers are recruited coincides with the location of this phase-reversal phenomenon relative to the signal source. We propose that effective signal amplification by the phase-reversal phenomenon occurs when bees straddle a cell across which the phase reversal is expressed. Such a bee would be subjected to a situation in which the legs were moving towards and away from one another instead of in the same direction. In this manner, remote dance-followers could be alerted to a dancer performing in their vicinity. (+info)
Influence of honey on the gastrointestinal metabolism and disposition of glycyrrhizin and glycyrrhetic acid in rabbits.
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To investigate the effects of honey on the pharmacokinetics of glycyrrhizin and glycyrrhetic acid, administration of glycyrrhizin or glycyrrhetic acid with and without honey was carried out in rabbits in a randomized crossover design. An in vitro study using rabbit fecal flora was employed to elucidate the mechanism of the interaction. HPLC methods were used for the determination of glycyrrhizin, glycyrrhetic acid and 3-dehydroglycyrrhetic acid concentrations in serum and feces. Paired and unpaired Student's t-tests were used for statistical comparisons for in vivo and in vitro studies, respectively. Our study indicated that the area under the curve (AUC0-t) of glycyrrhetic acid was significantly enhanced by 53% when honey was concomitantly given with glycyrrhizin, whereas that of glycyrrhizin was not significantly altered. Nevertheless, lack of effect was observed when honey was concurrently given with glycyrrhetic acid. Fecal study indicated that both the hydrolysis of glycyrrhizin to glycyrrhetic acid and subsequent oxidation of glycyrrhetic acid to 3-dehydroglycyrrhetic acid were significantly affected in the presence of honey to result in more glycyrrhetic acid available for absorption. It could be concluded that honey significantly affected the gastrointestinal metabolism of glycyrrhizin and resulted in the increased glycyrrhetic acid exposure. Therefore, honey might enhance the efficacy and adverse effects of glycyrrhizin. (+info)