Melittin
The 26-amino-acid peptide that makes a bee sting hurt, used in people as a pain model and studied in the laboratory against bacteria, viruses and cancer cells
Melittin is the main peptide in honeybee venom. In people it has been injected only in tiny amounts, to study pain and skin inflammation; its antimicrobial and anticancer effects come from cell and animal work. It is not approved for any use.
What is it?
Melittin is the most abundant peptide in honeybee venom. It is a 26-amino-acid amphipathic chain, a shape that lets it insert into and disrupt cell membranes. That membrane activity is the basis of the laboratory interest in it against bacteria, viruses and tumour cells.
In humans its main use has been as an experimental pain stimulus. In healthy volunteers, 5 µg injected into the skin produced brief severe pain followed by a skin temperature rise that peaked in about 10 minutes and lasted over an hour; lidocaine gel reduced the inflammatory reaction but not the pain. Other volunteer studies found it caused a slowly developing secondary heat hyperalgesia, a two-phase change in hand skin temperature (first a drop, then a rise), and pain and blood-flow increases comparable to capsaicin at 50 µg, with a smaller area of mechanical hyperalgesia. Researchers proposed it as a model of neurogenic inflammation.
The antimicrobial and antiviral work is laboratory work. Reviews describe activity against planktonic and biofilm bacteria, synergy with some antibiotics, and inhibition of many viruses in culture, from influenza A and HIV to herpes simplex, while noting that safety, routes of administration and mechanisms still need study. In cats infected with feline immunodeficiency virus, a placebo-controlled trial found no significant clinical efficacy at the dose used.
In cancer research, a 2020 study found melittin suppressed growth-factor receptor activation in HER2-enriched and triple-negative breast cancer cells through its positively charged end, that adding a targeting motif increased selectivity for tumour cells, and that it enhanced docetaxel against breast tumours in mice. None of this has reached human trials, and melittin is not approved for any medical use.
At a Glance
Every value in this table is printed from the Grey Peptides dataset, the same record the compound explorer and comparison tool read, so the three can never disagree.
Educational information, not medical advice. The doses on this page come from approved labels, published studies and, where no study exists, amounts reported by users. None is a recommendation for you. An unapproved compound has no established safe or effective human dose, and products sold for “research use only” are not made or tested for people. Talk to a doctor before acting on anything on this site, including before you start, stop or change any medicine or dose. Full medical disclaimer.
Published Research
The studies behind melittin, read from their PubMed abstracts: human pain-model experiments, animal and cell research, and reviews.
Pain and axon reflex in volunteers
5 µg of intradermal melittin caused brief severe pain and a skin temperature rise peaking at about 10 minutes and lasting over an hour; 10% lidocaine gel reduced the temperature response but not the pain.
Secondary heat hyperalgesia
After intradermal melittin, the heat pain rating index rose over time, larger at 60 minutes than at 5 or 30 minutes, showing slowly developing secondary heat hyperalgesia.
Hand skin temperature reflexes
Forearm injection produced an immediate drop then a rise in finger and hand skin temperature, interpreted as a sympathetic reflex followed by release of vasomotor tone.
Compared with capsaicin
50 µg melittin and 10 µg capsaicin caused comparable pain and blood-flow increases; melittin's area of secondary mechanical hyperalgesia was smaller.
Breast cancer cells and mice
Melittin suppressed growth-factor receptor activation in aggressive breast cancer cells via its C-terminal sequence and enhanced docetaxel against tumours in a mouse model.
Cats with feline immunodeficiency virus
In a placebo-controlled study, melittin showed no significant clinical efficacy at the dose used and no side effects.
Antibacterial activity
A mini-review of melittin's effects against planktonic and biofilm bacteria and its synergy with antibiotics.
Antiviral activity
A review of laboratory evidence that melittin inhibits many viruses, including influenza A, HIV and herpes simplex, with safety and delivery still unresolved.
Side Effects & Contraindications
Reported Side Effects
From the human pain-model studies above.
Contraindications & Cautions
A research peptide with no approved use.
Legal Status
Not approved; a research peptide.
Frequently Asked Questions
?What is melittin?
The main peptide in honeybee venom, 26 amino acids long, which breaks open cell membranes.
?Has it been given to people?
Only in microgram amounts injected into the skin of volunteers, to study pain and inflammation; it has not been tested as a treatment.
?Does it kill cancer cells or viruses?
In laboratory and animal studies it does, but no human trial has tested it as an anticancer or antiviral drug.
?Is it the same as bee venom therapy?
No. Bee venom contains many components; melittin is one purified peptide from it.
References
- [pubmed] Koyama N, et al. "Computer-assisted infrared thermographic study of axon reflex induced by intradermal melittin." Pain, 2000;84(2-3):133-9. PMID: 10666517.
- [pubmed] Sumikura H, et al. "Secondary heat hyperalgesia induced by melittin in humans." Eur J Pain, 2006;10(2):121-5. PMID: 16310715.
- [pubmed] Koyama N, et al. "Biphasic vasomotor reflex responses of the hand skin following intradermal injection of melittin into the forearm skin." Eur J Pain, 2002;6(6):447-53. PMID: 12413433.
- [pubmed] Sumikura H, et al. "A comparison of hyperalgesia and neurogenic inflammation induced by melittin and capsaicin in humans." Neurosci Lett, 2003;337(3):147-50. PMID: 12536045.
- [pubmed] Duffy C, et al. "Honeybee venom and melittin suppress growth factor receptor activation in HER2-enriched and triple-negative breast cancer." NPJ Precis Oncol, 2020;4:24. PMID: 32923684.
- [pubmed] Hartmann AD, et al. "Clinical efficacy of melittin in the treatment of cats infected with the feline immunodeficiency virus." Tierarztl Prax Ausg K Kleintiere Heimtiere, 2016;44(6):417-423. PMID: 27808347.
- [pubmed] Memariani H, et al. "Melittin: from honeybees to superbugs." Appl Microbiol Biotechnol, 2019;103(8):3265-3276. PMID: 30824944.
- [pubmed] Memariani H, et al. "Melittin: a venom-derived peptide with promising anti-viral properties." Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis, 2020;39(1):5-17. PMID: 31422545.
- [pubmed] Habermann E. "Bee and wasp venoms." Science, 1972;177(4046):314-22. PMID: 4113805.
Sources & Citations
Studies were read from their PubMed records (October 6, 2026).
Medical Disclaimer: This content is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, and nothing here is an instruction to obtain or use any compound. Consult a licensed healthcare provider before making health decisions.