Honey as Functional Food and Prospects in Natural Honey Production

Otero, Maria Catherine B.; Bernolo, Leslie F.

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-42319-3_11

Cited by 13 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Honey is widely accepted as a functional health food worldwide, and it is one of the natural products made from plant nectars by honey-producing bees (Otero and Bernolo 2020). Honey has been classified into two categories: (i) nectar honey derived from nectars of flowers; and (ii) honeydew honey derived from plant excretions, or from the excretions of plant-juice-sucking insects of the order Hemiptera.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Honey-producing bee–pollen–vegetation relationships in the West Coast and Western Ghats of India

Hegde

Sridhar

2022

Palynology

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The ecosystem services offered by honey-producing bees are highly significant for the fertilization of flowers to produce fruits and seeds. The pollen found on bees and in honeycombs and honey represents the type of vegetation visited by the bees. The pollen diversity of honeycombs built by four honey-producing bees of the west coast and Western Ghats of India was evaluated to identify the floral sources. A spectrum of 54 pollen types (belonging to 52 genera in 34 families) was identified on the west coast, while 94 pollen types (belonging to 73 genera in 41 families) were identified in the Western Ghats. The results show that the bees of the four species on the west coast visited a limited number of plant species to gather nectar but included a higher quantity of total pollen of specific plant species. In the Western Ghats, the same species of bees visited more plant species but obtained lower quantities of pollen of specific plant species. This study shows that the honey-producing bees of the west coast and the Western Ghats prefer multifloral nectar for the production of honey. Floral resources for honey-producing bees are more diverse in the Western Ghats than on the west coast of India. Such differences might influence the quality (physical and nutraceutical) of honey produced by the bees in different geographic regions.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Honey-producing bee–pollen–vegetation relationships in the West Coast and Western Ghats of India

Hegde

Sridhar

2022

Palynology

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“…Honey is a sweet substance naturally produced by Apis mellifera bees [ 1 ]. Bees collect and transform the nectar of plants or secretions of living parts of some trees (dew), producing honey (honeydew from plant sucking insects), and storing it in honeycomb cells [ 2 ]. Honey contains more than 180 substances, and the main compounds are sugars, water, and minerals [ 3 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Influence of Chemical Contaminants on the Physicochemical Properties of Unifloral and Multifloral Honey

Scripcă

Amariei

2021

Foods

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The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the effect of antibiotic and pesticide residues on the physicochemical properties of unifloral and multifloral honey. The mineral elements content of honey was analyzed and correlated with antibiotic and pesticide residues, and a positive correlation was found between manganese and neonicotinoids. Potassium was found to be the most abundant mineral compound. Correlations were found between mineral content, color, and the content of antibiotic and pesticide residues of honey. In meadow honey, residues of antibiotics and pesticides were undetectable. In some of the other types of honey, the maximum residue limits regulated by European legislation were exceeded. Endosulfan residue was found in mint and rapeseed, honey with 0.42 and 5.14 ng/g, respectively. Neonicotinoids were found in 27% of the analyzed honey samples. Chloramphenicol was identified only in rapeseed honey, with concentrations ranging from 0.2 ng/g to 0.8 ng/g. Nitrofurans were found in 14%, and nitroimidazoles were found in 6% of the analyzed samples. According to EU legislation that is in force, the use of antibiotics in beekeeping is not allowed. The MRLs for neonicotinoids are 50 ng/g, and for coumaphos, the maximum limit is 100 ng/g. For the other pesticide residues, the maximum limit is 10 ng/g. The results of statistical analysis obtained using principal component analysis (PCA) showed a major difference in the levels of contamination of raspberry and meadow honey and the other types of honey.

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“…Honey is a natural product and functional food with proven therapeutic advantages in the treatment of various disorders [ 1 ]. Besides its oral consumption, honey has successfully been used topically in wound care for a broad spectrum of injuries and burns [ 2 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2021

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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.

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Honey as Functional Food and Prospects in Natural Honey Production

Cited by 13 publications

References 52 publications

Honey-producing bee–pollen–vegetation relationships in the West Coast and Western Ghats of India

Honey-producing bee–pollen–vegetation relationships in the West Coast and Western Ghats of India

The Influence of Chemical Contaminants on the Physicochemical Properties of Unifloral and Multifloral Honey

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

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