Physiological and Immunological Status of Adult Honeybees (Apis mellifera) Fed Sugar Syrup Supplemented with Pentadecapeptide BPC 157

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Administration of BPC 157 induces positive physiological changes in honeybees. Those changes include few biochemical and immunological parameters in hemolymph and hypopharyngeal gland of newly emerged worker bees in laboratory-controlled conditions and increased enzymatic activity in the digestive system of young honeybees in apiary. Changes in proteolytic enzyme activity are particularly visible in the top of the epithelial cells in the mid-guts of honeybees, indicating a connection between oral administration of sucrose diet enriched with BPC 157 and honeybees’ immunity. These cognitions give a firm basis for further studies of BPC 157 use in all aspects of beekeeping. ABSTRACT: Various factors contribute to a decline in diversity and number of bees. Here, an integrated approach in experimental BPC 157 therapy was implemented, combining laboratory-controlled and field study results. The aim of a study was to assess the effects of BPC 157 additional feeding of newly emerged worker honeybees on few biochemical and immunological parameters in hemolymph (glucose, trehalose, lipids, proteins, vitellogenin, glucose-oxidase (GOX)), and hypopharyngeal gland (HPG), in laboratory-controlled conditions. Additionally, to examine the physiological status of protein digestion, the enzymatic activity of leucine aminopeptidase (LAP) in the mid-guts of worker honeybees was analyzed. It was found that individual honeybees, in hoarding cages, following BPC 157 administration through carbohydrate food, showed positive physiological changes when compared to the control groups. Those results were complemented by strong and visible LAP activity, particularly noticeable in the apical parts of the epithelial cells in the mid-guts of young worker honeybees originated from treated hives, suggesting a link between alternative oral therapy with BPC 157 and honeybees’ immunity.