Antibacterial activity of honeys from Amazonian stingless bees of Melipona spp. and its effects on bacterial cell morphology

Abstract

BACKGROUND Stingless bee honey has great therapeutic potential, especially as an antimicrobial agent. In the present study, we evaluated the in vitro antibacterial potential of honey from Melipona spp. with occurrence in Rio Branco‐AC and Xapuri‐AC from the Amazonian region. Samples were collected from the species Melipona eburnea, Melipona grandis, Melipona flavolineata and Melipona seminigra. The antibacterial activity of the honey samples was tested against standard Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative bacteria and two strains isolated from bovine mastitis. RESULTS In the agar diffusion assay, we observed antibacterial activity for the four honeys against the tested strains. The honey from M. flavolineata showed a minimmum inhibitory concentration (MIC) lower than 3.12% (v/v). The minimum bactericidal concentration values were larger than the MIC for most of the microorganisms tested. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed the damaging effect of the honey of M. flavolineata on Staphylococcus aureus cells, as well as its inhibitory effect on cell division. CONCLUSION The results of the present study demonstrate that the honey from stingless bees possesses in vitro antimicrobial activity against pathogenic bacteria. The effects observed by SEM show that honey from the Amazonian stingless bee M. flavolineata has promising therapeutic potential as a future antimicrobial agent. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry

Composition, functional properties and safety of honey: a review

“…3 Honey can affect several pathogens, including Bacillus cereus, Candida albicans, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella enterica, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes. 77 The synergistic effect of H 2 O 2 and gluconic acid in honey can cause depolarization of cell membranes and the destruction of cell walls, ultimately inhibiting the growth of E. coli K-12. 85 For the inhibition of Salmonella Typhimurium LT2, the minimum concentration of phenolic extracts from Qinling honey was the lowest (5 mg mL −1 ), while chlorogenic acid was the highest (155.91 ± 0.79 mg kg −1 ), followed by caffeic acid and rutin.…”

“…Honey can affect several pathogens, including Bacillus cereus , Candida albicans , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , Salmonella enterica , Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes 77 . The synergistic effect of H 2 O 2 and gluconic acid in honey can cause depolarization of cell membranes and the destruction of cell walls, ultimately inhibiting the growth of E. coli K‐12 85 .…”

A Comprehensive Review of Stingless Bee Products: Phytochemical Composition and Beneficial Properties of Honey, Propolis, and Pollen

“…It has been proven that stingless bee honey has the potential to inhibit bacteria [8,18,25,30,[53][54][55][56][57][58]. Researchers Hasali et al [58] stated that honey produced by Heterotrigona itama showed greater inhibition of P. aeruginosa compared to commercial antibiotics, indicating better antibacterial activity against pathogenic bacteria.…”

Antimicrobial activity of stingless bee honey (Tribe: Meliponini) on clinical and foodborne pathogens: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…The antimicrobial activity of stingless bee honeys, besides helping to preserve the honey itself or some foods, has been useful for wounds and burn care, skin, eye, and mucosal infections such as throat diseases and gastrointestinal infections in humans (Almasaudi, 2021; Esa et al., 2022; Jacinto‐Castillo et al., 2022; Kimoto‐Nira & Amano, 2008; Kwapong et al., 2013; Martínez‐Puc et al., 2022; Quezada‐Euán, 2018; Tesfaye et al., 2022; Zamora et al., 2015a). Since ancient times this knowledge has been used by indigenous communities in tropical regions around the world, as a natural antimicrobial agent against multiresistant and virulent microorganisms due to its unique biochemical composition and other properties that greatly differ from A. mellifera honey or other commercial honey (Alvarez‐Suarez et al., 2018; Domingos et al., 2021; Guerrini et al., 2009; Morroni et al., 2018; Ng et al., 2017, 2020; Rao et al., 2016; Villacrés‐Granda et al., 2021). Tetragonisca angustula honey has been one of the most studied, followed by Melipona becchei honey and various species of the genera Scaptotrigona , Melipona , and Trigona .…”