Stingless bee honey (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini): a review of quality control, chemical profile, and biological potential

Souza, Edineide Cristina Alexandre de; Menezes, Cristiano; Flach, Adriana

doi:10.1007/s13592-020-00802-0

Cited by 37 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 84 publications

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“…To note, isorhamnetin was isolated from the nest of stingless bee T. spinipes collected in Fortaleza, state of Ceará, Northeast of Brazil [53]. Collectively, the findings of this study on the anti-staphylococcal activity of T. biroi honey extract and reports on the biological potential of stingless bee honey from Brazil [49,54], South Asia [25,26,47,55,56], and Australia [48,51,57] underscore the beneficial properties and nutritional value of stingless bee honey.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

The Isorhamnetin-Containing Fraction of Philippine Honey Produced by the Stingless Bee Tetragonula biroi Is an Antibiotic against Multidrug-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Suarez

Tirador

Villorente³

et al. 2021

Molecules

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Honey exhibits antibacterial and antioxidant activities that are ascribed to its diverse secondary metabolites. In the Philippines, the antibacterial and antioxidant activities, as well as the bioactive metabolite contents of the honey, have not been thoroughly described. In this report, we investigated the in vitro antibacterial and antioxidant activities of honey from Apis mellifera and Tetragonula biroi, identified the compound responsible for the antibacterial activity, and compared the observed bioactivities and metabolite profiles to that of Manuka honey, which is recognized for its antibacterial and antioxidant properties. The secondary metabolite contents of honey were extracted using a nonionic polymeric resin followed by antibacterial and antioxidant assays, and then spectroscopic analyses of the phenolic and flavonoid contents. Results showed that honey extracts produced by T. biroi exhibits antibiotic activity against Staphylococcal pathogens as well as high antioxidant activity, which are correlated to its high flavonoid and phenolic content as compared to honey produced by A. mellifera. The bioassay-guided fractionation paired with Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (LCMS) and tandem MS analyses found the presence of the flavonoid isorhamnetin (3-methylquercetin) in T. biroi honey extract, which was demonstrated as one of the compounds with inhibitory activity against multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus ATCC BAA-44. Our findings suggest that Philippine honey produced by T. biroi is a potential nutraceutical that possesses antibiotic and antioxidant activities.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

The Isorhamnetin-Containing Fraction of Philippine Honey Produced by the Stingless Bee Tetragonula biroi Is an Antibiotic against Multidrug-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Suarez

Tirador

Villorente³

et al. 2021

Molecules

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“…The significant difference in the moisture contents of honey bee honey and stingless bee honey is mainly due to the different strategies used to produce honey. Honey bees remove moisture by using their wings and store honey in sealed honeycombs, while stingless bees do not vaporize honey using their wings, and the honey has contact with the air until the honey pots are fully enclosed [17,27]. Higher moisture content of stingless bee honey than honey bee honey was also shown in other studies [16,28,29].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 63%

Botanical Origin Differentiation of Malaysian Stingless Bee Honey Produced by Heterotrigona itama and Geniotrigona thoracica Using Chemometrics

Sit

Ooi

et al. 2021

Molecules

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Stingless bee honey, specifically honeydew honey, is generally valued for its better health benefits than those of most blossom types. However, scientific studies about the differentiation of stingless bee honey based on honeydew and blossom origins are very limited. In this study, 13C NMR spectroscopy was employed to quantify the seven major sugar tautomers in stingless bee honey samples, and the major sugar compositions of both honeydew and blossom types were found not significantly different. However, several physicochemical properties of honeydew honey including moisture content, free acidity, electrical conductivity, ash content, acetic acid, diastase, hydrogen peroxide, and mineral elements levels were significantly higher; while total soluble solid, proline, and hydroxymethylfurfural were significantly lower than blossom honey. Greater antioxidant capacity in honeydew honey was proven with higher total phenolic compounds, ABTS, DPPH, superoxide radical scavenging activities, peroxyl radical inhibition, iron chelation, and ferric reducing power. Using principal component analysis (PCA), two clusters of stingless bee honey from the honeydew and blossom origin were observed. PCA also revealed that the differentiation between honeydew and blossom origin of stingless bee honey is possible with certain physicochemical and antioxidant parameters. The combination of NMR spectroscopy and chemometrics are suggested to be useful to determine the authenticity and botanical origin of stingless bee honey.

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“…Therefore, there is an urgent need for an exclusive quality standard for SBH, as it would increase its commercialization and assure safe and authentic products to consumers. Some countries have made some efforts to set quality standards for SBH, such as Malaysia (Nordin et al, 2018) and Brazil (Souza et al, 2021). Still, the insufficient knowledge of SBH composition and the wide variety of bee species make the establishment of quality standards challenging (Schvezov et al, 2020).…”

Section: Analys Is Cons Idering Future Re S E Archmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Honey is classified according to the raw material used for its production in blossom honey or nectar honey (Codex Alimentarius, 2001). In a general view, stingless bee honey (SBH) is characterized by higher acidity levels, moisture content, and reducing sugars compared with honey from A. mellifera (Sant'ana et al, 2020;Souza et al, 2021). SB usually produces honey with unique characteristics and different sweetness, flavor, texture, and aroma (Abd Jalil et al, 2017;Alvarez-Suarez et al, 2018;Ávila et al, 2019;Badrulhisham et al, 2020;Biluca et al, 2016;Costa et al, 2018;Jimenez et al, 2016;Majid et al, 2020;Sousa, Souza, et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous studies have already summarized the chemical profile and physicochemical properties (Nordin et al, 2018;Souza et al, 2021) and wounding healing effects (Abd Jalil et al, 2017) of SBH, as well as its potential health benefits (Al-Hatamleh et al, 2020;Ávila et al, 2019). However, as far as the authors are known, no study has performed an overview of the potential nutraceutical and medicinal effects of SBH, presenting results from in vitro and in vivo investigations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Stingless bee honey: An overview of health benefits and main market challenges

Pimentel

Rosset

Sousa³

et al. 2021

Journal of Food Biochemistry

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This review aimed to evaluate the nutraceutical and medicinal effects of stingless bee honey (SBH) by bringing a discussion focused on the main known in vitro/in vivo health-promoting effects. SBH has a high-water content, slight sweetness, acidic flavor, fluid texture, and slow crystallization. The type and concentration of phenolic compounds and consequent antioxidant activity were mainly associated with the floral sources, geographical location, bee species, and processing steps. SBH has anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial (against spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms), anti-diabetic, and skin aging delay activities in in vitro tests. It has also shown antioxidant and hypolipidemic effects, can protect from injuries caused by dyslipidemia, possess anti-inflammatory activity against chronic subclinical systemic inflammation and anti-diabetic properties, and can control and prevent Staphylococcus aureus infection on infected wound healings in in vivo tests (rats). However, clinical trials are crucial for the probation of the medicinal and nutraceutical properties of SBH.Despite this, there are still no general norms and/or quality standards for this type of honey. The information summarized in this review is important to add value to this little-consumed food, providing helpful information to spread knowledge about its benefits, assisting future studies, and raising perspectives for its recognition as a functional food. Furthermore, it may encourage the creation of standard quality for the production and marketing of SBH. Practical applicationsPrevious studies have already summarized the chemical profile and physicochemical properties of stingless bee honey (SBH) and its potential health properties. However, no study has performed an overview of the potential nutraceutical and medicinal effects of SBH, presenting results from in vitro and in vivo investigations. Therefore, this review is the first study to overview the potential nutraceutical and medicinal effects of SBH, showing results of in vitro/in vivo health-promoting effects. The bioactivity of SBH is related to bee species and floral sources. The SBH has antiinflammatory, antimicrobial, anti-diabetic, and antioxidant in vitro activity. It has also shown hypolipidemic effects and protection from injuries caused by dyslipidemia in rats.

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Stingless bee honey (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini): a review of quality control, chemical profile, and biological potential

Cited by 37 publications

References 84 publications

The Isorhamnetin-Containing Fraction of Philippine Honey Produced by the Stingless Bee Tetragonula biroi Is an Antibiotic against Multidrug-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

The Isorhamnetin-Containing Fraction of Philippine Honey Produced by the Stingless Bee Tetragonula biroi Is an Antibiotic against Multidrug-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Botanical Origin Differentiation of Malaysian Stingless Bee Honey Produced by Heterotrigona itama and Geniotrigona thoracica Using Chemometrics

Stingless bee honey: An overview of health benefits and main market challenges

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