The antimicrobial activity of honey of the stingless bee beecheii.

The availability of hydrogen peroxide in honey as well as its hyperosmolarity and acidic properties, honey possesses significant inhibitory activity on the proliferation of bacteria. In addition, the therapeutic value of honey is also credited to its antioxidant properties which are mainly due to the substantial amount of phenolic compounds. However, the potency of antioxidant properties of Stingless honey could be varied with different geographical origins and the floral sources.

Stingless bee farming has been gaining attention in tropical countries recently. In Mexico, beecheii., a native stingless bee is commonly cultivated in farming areas as major pollinators and also for honey production. Melipona honey has been recognized to have economic potential due to its growing availability and its higher effectiveness in antibacterial activity with a wider spectrum compared to honeybee honey.

Through well diffusion assay, the antimicrobial activities of stingless bee honeys especially from Melipona sp. and Trigona sp. (3– 22 mm) have been reported in Ethiopia, Australia, Mexico, Germany , Thailand and Brazil. Almost all the honey varieties used in this study especially Hypotrigona sp. ...

Melipona honey was analyzed for bactericidal and antibiofilm potencies using plate count and spectrophotometry methods, respectively, against different Staphylococcus aureus isolates, including ATCC 25923 strain, ATCC 33591 methicillin resistant strain (MRSA), and two clinical isolates from wounds. Besides, the relationship between anti-staphylococcal effects and antioxidant capacity of Melipona honey was discussed. All S. aureus isolates were highly susceptible to the antibacterial action of Melipona honey. Lysis of the planktonic bacterial cells was observed using scanning electron microscopy. Despite moderate levels of phenolic content (106.62 mg GAE/kg), DPPH free radical scavenging activity (40.94% RSA), and FRAP value (419.50 μM Fe (П)/100g), Trigona honey exhibited potent inhibitory effect (75-90%) on biofilm formation, especially in 20% (v/v) honey. Additionally, the effects of functional phytochemicals and acidity (pH 2.31) in 20% (v/v) honey were suggested to contribute up to 70% reduction on established biofilm. In short, Melipona honey exhibited high antibacterial and antibiofilm activities, suggesting a potential therapeutic agent in staphylococcal wound infection.

Catalase protects cells from metabolically produced hydrogen peroxide by degrading it to water and oxygen ( Bang et al., 2003). Garedew et al., (2003) evaluated the antimicrobial activity of honey from stingless bee Melipona against four fungal species and six bacterial species.

The study of the microorganisms associated with Melipona honey is very important, especially from two points of view: the content of probiotics and innocuity. Even when properties of bee honey, such as osmotic pressure, hydrogen peroxide content and pH, lead to think that this food could not contain any microorganisms; there are reports about existing microflora in the bee honey. Pollen and honeybee stomachs are the main sources of microorganisms in honey. However, other sources, during manipulation, could introduce other microorganisms, sometimes pathogenic. In this chapter, we discuss about the microflora found in Melipona honey. Microbiological, biochemical and molecular techniques have been employed to identify the microorganisms present in bee honey; former studies report the existence of some bacteria, mainly of Bacillus genus, yeasts like Candida and fungi like Aspergillus. Recent research in our group has permitted to isolate and identify some non-pathogenic bacteria such as Bacillus subtilis / Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, Bacillus pumilus / Bacillus safensis and Bacillus licheniformis in Melipona honey. Furthermore, determination of microflora in honey could be used as a microbiological quality standard due to some pathogenic species of bacteria like Bacillus larvae, Bacillus cereus and Bacillus alvei could affect the innocuity of Melipona honey.