Effects of the Carbohydrate Sources Nectar, Sucrose and Invert Sugar on Antibacterial Activity of Honey and Bee-Processed Syrups

Abstract

Honey is a functional food with health-promoting properties. Some types of honey are used in wound care for the treatment of acute and chronic infected wounds. Increased interest in using honey as a functional food and as a base for wound care products causes limited availability of raw honey. Numerous studies suggest that the protein content of honey is mainly comprised of bee-derived proteins and peptides, with a pronounced antibacterial effect. Therefore, the aim of our study was to characterize for the first time the antibacterial activity of raw honeys and bee-processed syrups which were made by processing sucrose solution or invert sugar syrup in bee colonies under field conditions. Furthermore, we compared the contents of glucose oxidase (GOX) and the levels of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in honey samples and bee-processed syrups. These parameters were also compared between the processed sucrose solution and the processed invert sugar syrup. Our results clearly show that natural honey samples possess significantly higher antibacterial activity compared to bee-processed syrups. However, no differences in GOX contents and accumulated levels of H2O2 were found between honeys and bee-processed syrups. Comparison of the same parameters between bee-processed feeds based on the two artificial carbohydrate sources revealed no differences in all measured parameters, except for the content of GOX. The amount of GOX was significantly higher in bee-processed sucrose solutions, suggesting that processor bees can secrete a higher portion of carbohydrate metabolism enzymes. Determination of honey color intensity showed that in bee colonies, bee-processed syrups were partially mixed with natural honey. Further research is needed to identify the key botanical compounds in honey responsible for the increased antibacterial potential of honey.

Differentiation of High-Fructose Corn Syrup Adulterated Kelulut Honey Using Physicochemical, Rheological, and Antibacterial Parameters

“…As a result, the antibacterial action against the studied bacteria was lowered, as was the efficacy of the exhibition. A study by Bugarova et al [ 43 ] showed that raw honey and adulterated honey give different amounts of sugar level thus reflecting the antibacterial activity of honey. Adulterated honey will give lower antimicrobial activity compared to raw honey.…”

“…Adulterated honey will give lower antimicrobial activity compared to raw honey. This sugar would be completely absent or present in minute amounts in honey that has been processed [ 43 ]. Observations made in accordance with nearly every study comparing the antibacterial capabilities of authentic and contaminated honey revealed that the efficacy of the prevention of bacterial species growth decreases as the amount of adulterated honey is increased.…”

Relationships among Hydrogen Peroxide Concentration, Catalase, Glucose Oxidase, and Antimicrobial Activities of Honeys

“…In this work, no correlation was found between H 2 O 2 and GOx and between H 2 O 2 and CAT (p > 0.05) (Table 2). A lack of correlation between GOx and H 2 O 2 was already reported, concluding that GOX activity is not a reliable parameter for the prediction of H 2 O 2 and the antimicrobial activity of honey [13,15,23,36]. In our study, there were four behavioral tendencies of the analyzed honeys regarding the CAT and GOx activities and H2O2 concentration, which can be divided into four different cases: In our study, there were four behavioral tendencies of the analyzed honeys regarding the CAT and GOx activities and H 2 O 2 concentration, which can be divided into four different cases:…”

“…When honey is diluted, GOx is activated [11]. Thus, we consider that it is of utmost importance to determine the real activity of GOx instead of the GOx content that was already measured by other researchers [13,15,23]. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to determine the possible relationships among CAT and GOx activities, the concentration of H 2 O 2 , and the antimicrobial activity of honeys against Staphylococcus aureus.…”

Physicochemical properties, chemical constituents, and antioxidant activity of Eurya honey

“…Honey is rich in nutrients and active ingredients (Wang et al ., 2021), such as sugars, water and minor constituents (Sogut & Seydim, 2020). Honey contains a variety of sugars, mainly fructose and glucose (Bugarova et al ., 2021). In addition, it also contains solid particulate matter (plant pollen) collected from the plant (Layek et al ., 2020).…”