Stingless bee honey and its potential value: a systematic review

Abstract

Modern science has found that most traditional practice of using stingless bee honey has great potential as an added value in modern medicine and considered to have a higher medicinal value than other bee species. However, due to the relatively low output of honey compared to other honey so, focus on this honey is limited. Hence, this systematic review provides the updated result on the potential value of stingless bee honey as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, cytotoxicity and antimicrobial. The search strategy was developed in four databases (Scopus, Medline and Ovid, EMBASE and PubMed) with the search terms "("honey" and "Kelulut", "honey" and "stingless bee", "honey" and "Trigona", "honey" and "pot honey", and "honey" and "Melipon")". The merged data was assessed using PRISMA guidelines and after the duplicates were removed, 1271 articles were segregated. Afterwards, 1232 articles were eliminated because they do not meet the inclusion criteria and 39 articles were reevaluated again for eligibility. Finally, after the evaluation process, only 26 of the articles were chosen for this review. The data of 26 articles of stingless bee honey were deliberated based on antioxidant properties, anti-inflammatory, cytotoxicity and analysis of antimicrobial activity. Three articles reported on antioxidant properties, one article on anti-inflammatory analysis, two articles on cytotoxicity analysis, and twenty articles on analysis of antimicrobial activity. Based on the feasible affirmation from the literature, stingless bee honey has an antioxidant capacity that able to decrease the ROS. ROS able to lead a variety of health problems thus stingless bee honey can be a dietary supplement to overcome this problem.

Physicochemical and Medicinal Properties of Tualang, Gelam and Kelulut Honeys: A Comprehensive Review

“…This honey has a slightly sour taste and is more liquid than the other honeys. It possesses antibacterial, antioxidant, and anti-osteoporotic properties due to its high antioxidant properties [ 10 , 11 ].…”

Management practices and honey characteristics of Melipona eburnea in the Peruvian Amazon

“…The high antibiotic content present in the honey of stingless bees may be one of the reasons why rapid fermentation is avoided, as long as contaminations during collection are kept to a minimum. Laboratory tests of stingless bee honey have, for example, revealed that stingless bee honey is a more powerful inhibitor of bacteria than honey from A. mellifera bees < 7 < 7 < 7 < 7 <.7 Lactose (g/100 g honey) < 7 < 7 < 7 < 7 < 7 Maltose (g/100 g honey) < 7 < 7 < 7 < 7 < 7 Coliforms MPN < 3 < 3 < 3 < 3 < 3 Organisms of fecal origin < 3 < 3 < 3 < 3 < 3 (BRADBEAR, 2009;RODRÍGUEZ-MALAVER et al, 2009;YAACOB, et al, 2017;AMIN et al, 2018;KHONGKWANMUEANG et al, 2020).…”

“…Honey from multiple species of stingless bee exhibit a great potential for human consumption and commercialization due to the higher content of polyphenolic compounds, flavonoids, and antioxidants, as compared with Apis mellifera honey (RODRÍGUEZ-MALAVER et al, 2009;OLIVEIRA et al, 2012;KHONGKWANMUEANG et al, 2020). In addition, bioactive, therapeutic, and medicinal effects of stingless bee honeys have been documented across different stingless bee species (WATANABE et al, 2014;BILUCA et al, 2016;RAO et al, 2016;YAACOB et al, 2017;AMIN et al, 2018;KHONGKWANMUEANG et al, 2020). Globally, there are more than 500 species of stingless bees, the majority of which are described from the Neotropical and Sub-Tropical region (CAMARGO & PEDRO, 2007;MICHENER, 2013).…”

Physicochemical and Microbiological Analysis of Stingless Bees Honey Collected from Local Market in Malaysia

“…Thus, the honey may have the potential as therapeutic or healing honey [13]. The antibacterial activity of honey depends on various factors such as geographical origin, botanical source, harvesting (season when honey was collected), processes and storage conditions as well as the presence of hydrogen peroxide, phenolic compounds, acidity, phytochemicals, pH of honey and higher osmotic pressure [13,25,39].…”