The Value of Chilean Honey: Floral Origin Related to their Antioxidant and Antibacterial activities

Abstract

Honey chemical composition is related to the plant species where nectar is collected by honeybees. Chilean beekeeping is characterized by a variety of honey types, some unique, due to a high participation of endemic and native species. In Chile, the most emblematic lower honey, both for its abundance and sensory characteristics, is ulmo honey (Eucriphya cordifolia) and quillay honey (Quillaja saponaria). Melissopalynological analyses are used to establish whether a honey is uniloral, where at least 45% or more pollen grains found in it belong to the same species. The antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of Chilean honey have been studied in the last years with excellent results. Quillaja saponaria, Eucriphya cordifolia, Azara petiolaris, and Retanilla trinervia are within the Chilean endemic species that produce uniloral honeys that show antioxidant potential and antibacterial activity against pathogenic gram positive and gram -negative bacteria and also multiresistant strains. These activities are mainly atributed to the phenolic compounds such as lavonoids. Among these atractive characteristics of honey, it is important to note that this product has low toxicity and the medicinal properties of honey will help to protect honeybees by adding value not only to the signiicantly important process of pollinating crops and native plants, but also for the medicinal importance of their products.

Study of honey according to botanical origin and physicochemical parameters in the Biobío Region, Chile

“…In Chile, the most desirable types of honey are those from native and/or endemic species such as Quillaja saponaria (soapbark), Eucryphia cordifolia (ulmo), Escallonia pulverulenta (madroño), G. avellana (Chilean hazelnut), and Weinmannia trichosperma (tineo) (Montenegro et al, 2008;Bridi and Montenegro, 2017). However, the monofloral honey of the species E. glutinosa (nirrhe) found in this study is still unknown and understudied; it could potentially be a product with high added value and exclusive characteristics due to its endemic origin.…”

“…However, the monofloral honey of the species E. glutinosa (nirrhe) found in this study is still unknown and understudied; it could potentially be a product with high added value and exclusive characteristics due to its endemic origin. This could be enhanced with possible antioxidant and antimicrobial properties such as those found in other native types of honey in Chile (Montenegro et al, 2009;Bridi and Montenegro, 2017).…”

“…In recent years, the demand for honey has shown a steady increase mainly due to its natural origin and sweetness, which is the result of a high sugar content mostly obtained from the nectar sipped by bees from flowers; honey is also attributed with various medicinal properties (Montenegro et al, 2009;Navarrete et al, 2016;Barrera, 2017;Bridi and Montenegro, 2017;Velásquez and Montenegro, 2017). Similarly, the use of bees as biomarkers of the health status of the environment has recently been promoted due to their sensitivity to climate change and environmental pollutants.…”

Caracterização botânica e avaliação do potencial antimicrobiano do mel produzido por Apis mellifera L, Melipona scutellaris Latreille e Tetragonisca angustula Latreille (Hymenoptera: Apidae) em um fragmento de floresta ombrófila densa no estado da Bahia, Brasil

“…Entre esses três tipos, apenas Cupania tem afinidade botânica a plantas nectaríferas. O gênero Cupania apresenta plantas endêmicas do Brasil com reconhecido potencial medicinal (Silva et al, 2014;Pereira et al, 2016;Ricardo et al, 2017;Lucena et al, 2018), fatos que, associados às propriedades antimicrobianas encontradas nos méis avaliados, podem indicar um produto de destaque com uso potencial na medicina, como ocorre com os méis de ulmo e manuka (Sherlock et al, 2010;Bridi;Montenegro, 2017).…”

Antioxidant Effect of Extracts from Native Chilean Plants on the Lipoperoxidation and Protein Oxidation of Bovine Muscle

“…The continental Chilean territory has diverse geomorphology, which together with the biogeographical isolation of a territory limited by geographical and climatic barriers, has given it a biodiversity characterized by a high level of endemism in its ecosystems. The Chilean vascular flora are close to being made up of 50% endemic plant species [11]. Considering the limited knowledge on secondary metabolites and the varied backgrounds on the biological activity regarding these native and endemic plants, these species constitute a large source of bioactive compounds.…”