Honey bee as apitoxin, carries several active components, the most abundant of which is melittin, and the most biologically active are enzymes, particularly phospholipase A2. Bee venom is under laboratory and clinical research for its potential properties and uses in reducing risks for adverse events from bee venom therapy, rheumatoid arthritis, and use as an immunotherapy for protection against allergies from insect stings. Bee venom products are marketed in many countries, but, as of 2018, there are no approved clinical uses for these products which carry various warnings for potential allergic reactions. With an increased number of honey bees in a specific
Evolution of snake venom splicing. The Elapid snake "Bungarus fasciatus", for example, possesses a gene that is alternatively spliced to yield both a venom component and a physiological protein. Further diversification may have occurred by gene loss of specific venom components. For instance, the rattlesnake ancestor is believed to have had genes for neurotoxic PLA2 toxins, which are absent in modern non-neurotoxic "Crotalus" species. The various recruitment events had resulted in snake venom evolving into a very complex mixture of proteins. The venom of rattlesnakes, for example, includes nearly 40 different proteins from different protein families, and other snake venoms have been found to