Investigations of the Antioxidant and Antibacterial characteristics of the Meliponinae honey from Malaysia

• Main Authors: Lalita Tuksitha, 拉莉塔
• Other Authors: Peng, Chi-Chung
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2017
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/njcyjh

碩士 === 國立虎尾科技大學 === 生物科技系碩士班 === 105 === Stingless honey bees form a large group of bees that lack of a sting and are found among Meliponinae species indigenous to various tropical and subtropical regions. They are able to produce “stingless bee honey” that contains divergent categories of phenolic and flavonoid compounds and have been associated with antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. This study examines the physicochemical properties, antioxidant-activity and anti-microbial activity of stingless bee honey from Malaysia that was produced by Geniotrigona thoracica, Heterotrigona itama and Heterotrigona erythrogastra. The results show that G. thoracica honey has the highest concentration of flavonoids (99.04±5.14 mg/ml) and the greatest reducing power (19.05±0.79%), while the total phenolic context (17.67±0.75 mg/ml), reducing power (18.10±0.35 %), DPPH (47.40±3.18 %) and FRAP (50.66±5.77 mM of Fe2+ /100 g) of H. itama honey is significantly higher than those of the other honeys. In addition, G. thoracica honey has the highest antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus xylosus (2.10±0.10 cm), which is Gram-positive bacterium, and against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (1.60±0.10 cm) and Vibrio parahaemolyticus (2.03±0.06 cm), which are Gram-negative bacteria. These results suggest that stingless bee honeys possess useful amounts of phenolic and flavonoid compounds that are able to act as natural anti-oxidants and also have significant anti-microbial activity.