All in a Hornet’s saliva :

Drinking hornet’s saliva may not sound particularly appealing ,but many in Japan believe the insect fluid helped propel Olympic marathoner Naoko Takahashi to her gold medal victory at the Sydney Games in September, reports The Boston Globe. Amino acids taken from the saliva of the baby hornets improve physical endurance in humans. Developed by the Japanese biochemist Takashi Abe, this elixir is sold in Japan as high-tech sports drink called as vaam. Hornets fly a whopping 70 miles per day ,especially remarkable considering they weigh about 2 grams, making them one of the heaviest of al the flying insects. Unlike bees that feasts on pollen hornets eat other insects. Carrying them back to the nest adds another gram to their weight. Because of their constricted trunks ,adult hornets can’t eat their catch. Instead they feed it to their young larvae and then in a new twist on nursing , swallow the babies’ saliva. That is the source of the hornet’s strength.