Six honey samples produced by the stingless bee Heterotrigona itama were analyzed for their plant sources, phenolic compositions, and antioxidant activities. The honey samples were acetolyzed and identified microscopically, and the phenolic compounds were identified by using HPLC-DAD. The antioxidant activities were evaluated using three different assays (FRAP, DPPH, and ABTS) by spectrophotometry. The melissopalynological analysis showed that 26 pollen types from 14 plant families were identified in the honey. Cocos nucifera and Rhizophora mucronata presented as predominant pollen. A total of 6 phenolic acids such as catechin, chlorogenic acid, epicatechin, protocatechuic acid, p-coumaric acid, and rutin were identified. Rhizophora mucronata honey possessed the highest antioxidant activity in all assays. The result showed the influence of plant sources on the phenolic compounds and the antioxidant properties of stingless bee honey. These findings could be significant contributions for the sustainability of stingless bee industry as well as to promote Malaysian stingless bee honey worldwide.

The number of patients with diabetes mellitus is increasing at an alarming rate and this situation has triggered the interest of searching natural product as an alternative treatment. Stingless bee honey containing a diverse array of bioactive compounds is commonly utilized as a functional food and also found to possess various therapeutic effects including anti-diabetic through α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibition. However, the composition level of bioactive compounds varying of geographical origins and botanical sources of honey leads to different enzyme inhibition abilities. Therefore, this study explored the total phenolic, total flavonoid, α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibition activities of stingless bee honey from various botanical origins. In this study, stingless bee honey was collected from 6 different botanical origins namely, acacia, coconut, mangrove, starfruit, multifruit and multiflower plant. Honey from tualang tree was used as a positive control. Phenolic and flavonoid contents as well as α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibition activities of honey were studied spectrophotometrically. Stingless bee honey from mangrove was found to have the highest phenolic content (141.74±0.03 mg GAE/100 g). The honey collected from coconut origin showed the highest flavonoid content with the value of 51.33±0.02 mg RE/100 g and also achieved the highest percentage inhibition against α-glucosidase (68.33% at 100 µg/mL). Furthermore, tualang honey and honey samples from mangrove, coconut and Acacia tree were found to have strong α-amylase inhibition abilities as their inhibition percentages were more than 70.00% at 100 µg/mL. This study showed that the presence of flavonoid and phenolic compounds in honey from different botanical origins yielded different degree of α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibition and also recommended the uses of stingless bee honey in diabetes treatment.

The nutritional content of honey varies with its botanical and geographical origins; also, it is influence by environmental, storage and processing factors. The current study aimed at evaluating the nutritional composition of raw unprocessed Malaysian Stingless bee’s honey (Heterotrigona itama) from different botanical origins. Six honey samples were collected from different botanical origins located in the Southern part of Peninsular Malaysia. It was then analysed for ash, moisture, protein (Kjeldahl method), fat (Soxhlet extraction) and carbohydrates content according to AOAC official method. The ash, moisture, protein and carbohydrate contents of honey samples ranged from 0.15 to 0.90 g/100 g, 27.00 to 31.00 g/100 g, 0.20 to 0.80 g/100 g, and 67.58 to 72.25 g/100 g, respectively. No significant value obtained for the fat analysis of honey samples. Sample with higher moisture content recorded lower carbohydrates content. The health benefits of honey are generally known, however the knowledge of Malaysian Stingless bee honey especially from different botanical origins is still limited. Due to its prospect as functional foods, information on its composition is crucial as preliminary data for further study.

Physicochemical parameters analysis was used in the identification of varietal honey from different botanical origin. Botanical origin is one of the important parameter to be known as a quality control to meet the legislated mandatory requirement during commercialization. This study assessed the influence of the botanical origin on the physicochemical properties of stingless bee honey or known as kelulut honey in state of Johor, Malaysia. The honey samples were collected in six different botanical origins namely acacia,coconut, mangrove, starfruit, multifruits and multiflowers produced by bee species of Heterotrigona itama. Tualang honey from bee species of Apis dorsata was included as a positive control. The physicochemical properties in terms of pH, moisture, ash content, electrical conductivity (EC) and colour intensity were measured. The result obtained revealed an average pH (3.40 ± 0.15), moisture (28.9 ± 2.69 g/100g), ash (0.37 ± 0.27 g/100g), electrical conductivity (0.11 ± 0.07) mS/cm, and colour intensity (692 ± 187) mAU. In general, the raw honey from state of Johor presented satisfactory quality according to the result obtained help in honey identification and authenticity as well as to sustain meliponiculture industry in Malaysia.

Malaysian stingless bee honey or locally known as kelulut honey is a natural substance that have been widely explored for their great nutritional and therapeutic values. Modern beekeeping practices in different botanical areas have produced different types of honey that has influence on their physical and chemical composition as well as their biological activity. The main objective of this research is to investigate in vitro xanthine oxidase (XO) enzyme inhibition of honey produced by Heterotrigona itama species obtained from different botanical origins; (acacia, coconut, mangrove, starfruit, multifruits and multiflowers). In addition, the phytochemical composition was analyzed using spectrophotometric. The result revealed that honey from mangrove area displayed highest phytochemical composition (phenolic and flavonoid) with the value of 34.23 mg GAE/100g and 31.02 mg RE/100g of honey, respectively. The XO inhibitory activity (IC50 values) of all tested honeys were ranging from 30 to 185 mg/ml. As a conclusion, kelulut honey exhibited good potentials towards the inhibition of xanthine oxidase activities and also suggest a practical value for surveying natural inhibitors for clinical purpose.