Honeybees are one of the most marvelous and economically beneficial insects. As pollinators, they play a vital role in every aspect of the ecosystem. Beehive products have been used for thousands of years in many cultures for the treatment of various diseases. Their healing properties have been documented in many religious texts like the Noble Quran and the Holy Bible. Honey, bee venom, propolis, pollen and royal jelly all demonstrated a richness in their bioactive compounds which make them effective against a variety of bacterial strains. Furthermore, many studies showed that honey and bee venom work as powerful antibacterial agents against a wide range of bacteria including life-threatening bacteria. Several reports documented the biological activities of honeybee products but none of them emphasized on the antibacterial activity of all beehive products. Therefore, this review aims to highlight the antibacterial activity of honey, bee venom, propolis, pollen and royal jelly, that are produced by honeybees.

Voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs) are considered to be one of the most important ion channels given their remarkable physiological role. VGSCs constitute a family of large transmembrane proteins that allow transmission, generation, and propagation of action potentials. This occurs by conducting Na⁺ ions through the membrane, supporting cell excitability and communication signals in various systems. As a result, a wide range of coordination and physiological functions, from locomotion to cognition, can be accomplished. Drugs that target and alter the molecular mechanism of VGSCs’ function have highly contributed to the discovery and perception of the function and the structure of this channel. Among those drugs are various marine toxins produced by harmful microorganisms or venomous animals. These toxins have played a key role in understanding the mode of action of VGSCs and in mapping their various allosteric binding sites. Furthermore, marine toxins appear to be an emerging source of therapeutic tools that can relieve pain or treat VGSC-related human channelopathies. Several studies documented the effect of marine toxins on VGSCs as well as their pharmaceutical applications, but none of them underlined the principal marine toxins and their effect on VGSCs. Therefore, this review aims to highlight the neurotoxins produced by marine animals such as pufferfish, shellfish, sea anemone, and cone snail that are active on VGSCs and discuss their pharmaceutical values.

Scorpion venom is a rich source of diverse bioactive molecules with medicinal importance. While the venoms of many Buthidae scorpions have been extensively studied for their toxicity and therapeutic potential, Hottentotta judaicus scorpion venom (HjSV) remains poorly explored. In this study, using LC-ESI-MS, we show that HjSV has a complex composition. We find that HjSV has no significant cytotoxic effects on three human cancer cell lines, even at concentrations of up to 1000 µg/mL. However, it exerts a dose-dependent insecticidal effect against Drosophila melanogaster, a well-established genetic model organism, and two medically relevant mosquito species, Aedes albopictus and Culex pipiens. These findings highlight the venom’s selective activity and reveal a species-dependent susceptibility in insects, with mosquitoes being more sensitive than Drosophila. Furthermore, we show that at sub-lethal doses, HjSV alters D. melanogaster behavioral patterns, significantly reducing locomotor activity and increasing sleep duration. Altogether, our results provide new insights into the dual role of HjSV as both an insecticidal agent and behavioral modulator, shedding light on its ecological function in prey subduing and its potential application in pest control strategies.