A review of stingless bees' bioactivity in different parts of the world

Abstract

Stingless bees, also known as meliponines, live in beehives. However, reports on the distribution of stingless bees are scattered, resulting in a lack of precision. Honey and propolis are the main components that can be harvested from their beehive, with a great commercial value of up to 610 million USD. Despite the enormous potential profits, discrepancies in their bioactivities have been observed worldwide, leading to a lack of confidence. Therefore, this review provided oversight on the potential of stingless bee products and highlighted the differences between stingless bees in Asia, Australia, Africa, and America. The bioactivity of stingless bee products is diverse and exhibits great potential as an antimicrobial agent or in various diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancers, and oral problems.

Chemical Profile and Biological Potential of Scaptotrigona Bee Products (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini): An Review

“…Previous studies have also described antibacterial effects for S. polysticta honey, obtaining MIC values of 125 and 500 mg/mL on S. aureus and E. coli strains, respectively [77] and MICs of 101.4, 100 and 77.6 mg/mL on strains of S. aureus , K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa , respectively [79] . The antibacterial properties of stingless bee honey have been associated with factors such as high osmolarity, acidity and especially the hydrogen peroxide level of honey, as well as the presence of phytochemical components such as flavonoids, phenolic compounds and antibacterial peptides [81,82] …”

“…[79] The antibacterial properties of stingless bee honey have been associated with factors such as high osmolarity, acidity and especially the hydrogen peroxide level of honey, as well as the presence of phytochemical components such as flavonoids, phenolic compounds and antibacterial peptides. [81,82] According to the study published by Jimenez et al, [78] honey from S. mexicana also showed antibacterial activity against strains of E. faecalis, S. aureus, E. coli and P. aeruginosa, obtaining MIC values of 200, 250, 350 and 500 mg/mL, respectively. These data suggest that Gram-positive strains were more sensitive to honey, requiring a higher concentration of this product to inhibit the growth of Gram-negative bacteria.…”