Fig. 1

In vitro and in vivo toxicity results of melittin peptide. (A) Cytotoxicity of melittin peptide (0.625-10 µg/mL) on human primary fibroblast cells by the MTT assay. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) of melittin to fibroblast cells was 6.45 µg/mL. (B) Human blood hemolysis assay for melittin peptide (0.061–15.6 µg/mL) in which Triton X-100 and phosphate buffered saline (PBS) were used as positive and negative controls, respectively. Results (cytotoxicity and hemolysis) are expressed as mean ± SD. Statistical differences in relation to the control group (100 %) are represented as * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01 and ***p < 0.001. (C) In vivo intraperitoneal LD₅₀ (median lethal dose) determination for melittin using BALB-c mice (n = 5)