title: Study on a 4-week recovery test of sweet bee venom after a 13-week, repeated, intramuscular dose toxicity test in sprague-dawley rats.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study was performed to check for reversibility in the changes induced by a 13-week, repeated, dose toxicity test of Sweet Bee Venom (SBV) in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifteen male and 15 female SD rats were treated with 0.28 mg/kg of SBV (high-dosage group) and the same numbers of male and female SD rats were treated with 0.2 mL/kg of normal saline (control group) for 13 weeks. We selected five male and five female SD rats from the high-dosage group and the same numbers of male and female SD rats from the control group, and we observed these rats for four weeks. We conducted body-weight measurements, ophthalmic examinations, urinalyses and hematology, biochemistry, histology tests.
  
  
  RESULTS
  (1) Hyperemia and movement disorder were observed in the 13-week, repeated, dose toxicity test, but these symptoms were not observed during the recovery period. (2) The rats in the high-dose group showed no significant changes in weight compared to the control group. (3) No significant differences in the ophthalmic parameters, urine analyses, complete blood cell counts (CBCs), and biochemistry were observed among the recovery groups. (4) No changes in organ weights were observed during the recovery period. (5) Histological examination of the thigh muscle indicated cell infiltration, inflammation, degeneration, necrosis of muscle fiber, and fibrosis during the treatment period, but these changes were not observed during the recovery period. The fatty liver change that was observed during the toxicity test was not observed during the recovery period. No other organ abnormalities were observed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The changes that occurred during the 13-week, repeated, dose toxicity test are reversible, and SBV can be safely used as a treatment modality.
authors.affiliation: Department of Acupuncture & Moxibustion Medicine, Sangji University College of Oriental Medicine, Wonju, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyunmin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Department of Acupuncture & Moxibustion Medicine, Sangji University College of Oriental Medicine, Wonju, Korea.
authors.forename: Chungsan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: Division of Animal Resources and Life Science, Sangji University, Wonju, Korea.
authors.forename: Seungbae
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Sangji University College of Oriental Medicine, Wonju, Korea.
authors.forename: Byoungwoo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Research Center of the Korean Pharmacopuncture Institute, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Kirok
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.affiliation: Department of Acupuncture & Moxibustion Medicine, Sangji University College of Oriental Medicine, Wonju, Korea.
authors.forename: Kwangho
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lee
keywords: 13-week repeated dose toxicity; 4-week recovery test; Sweet Bee Venom; acupuncture; melittin; pharmacopuncture