Comprehensive profiling of Apis cerana indica Fabricius crude venom: A dual approach using LCMS and GCMS

Honeybee venom (HBV) possesses various kinds of proteins and metabolites, which are essential for their regular biological process. The presence of biologically active compounds in venom acts as a defensive substance for honeybees. The availability of peptides and enzymes might be used as potential therapeutics in healthcare sectors. The present investigation aimed to detect the low and high molecular weight compounds present in Apis cerana indica venom which was extracted by electrical stimulation method. To achieve maximum compound coverage, untargeted Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and Gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) based approaches were deployed. These combined techniques expedited the identification of 114 high molecular weight compounds, (69 protein families). The most dominant of which is the Major Royal Jelly Proteins (MRJP) family comprised of MRJPs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. MRJP 1 was found to contribute significantly among the other venom proteins with high combined peptide match scores and peptide spectrum matches. A total of 159 low molecular weight compounds were detected, which includes 136 metabolite compounds dominated by fatty acid derivatives (42.05 %) and 23 volatile compounds dominated by the alcohol group (58.16 %). The present investigation revealed a substantial contribution to the expansion of the understanding of the HBV composition and ought to be quantified to achieve the complete possible venom profile.