A sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for evaluating the concentration of bee venom in rat plasma.

A simple and reproducible enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed to determine the concentration of bee venom in rat plasma. The intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation for the ELISA were less then 3% between 0.1 and 1,000 ng mL(-1) venom, and the sensitivity of the detection was 0.1 ng mL(-1). Total recovery of the bee venom added to rat plasma was determined. Using this ELISA, serum levels of bee venom were easily determined. The rats were administered a single intravenous injection or oral dose of bee venom (1 mg kg(-1) of body weight). The bioavailability of the bee venom under the two administrations was compared using pharmacokinetic parameters. Results showed that intravenous administration of bee venom produced high plasma concentrations with a short half-life. The area under the curve for oral administration was 10 times lower than for intravenous administration. This loss of bee venom may be due to the degradation that occurs in the enzymatic and acidic environment of the gastrointestinal tract.