Journal of Ecology and Environment

pISSN 2287-8327 eISSN 2288-1220

QR Code

Article

Home Article View

Research

Published online January 23, 2024
https://doi.org/10.5141/jee.23.062

Journal of Ecology and Environment (2024) 48:04

Evaluation of stingless bee (Tetragonula pagdeni) honey properties and melissopalynological analysis from different geographical origins in Thailand

Jakkrawut Maitip1* , Amonwit Polgate1 , Woranika Promsart1 , Jinatchaya Butdee1 , Athitta Rueangwong1 , Tanatip Sittisorn1 , Wankuson Chanasit2, Satasak Jorakit3 and Prapai Kodcharin4

1Faculty of Science, Energy and Environment, King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok, Rayong Campus, Rayong 21120, Thailand
2Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Thaksin University, Patthalung 93210, Thailand
3SCG Chemicals Public Company Limited, Bangkok 10800, Thailand
4Community Enterprise of Stingless Beekeeper of Ban Thap Ma, Rayong 21000, Thailand

Correspondence to:Jakkrawut Maitip
E-mail jakkrawut.m@sciee.kmutnb.ac.th

Received: October 10, 2023; Revised: November 22, 2023; Accepted: November 24, 2023

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ The publisher of this article is The Ecological Society of Korea in collaboration with The Korean Society of Limnology

Abstract

Go to

Background: Honey from different geographical origins can have distinct characteristics due to variations in the floral sources available to stingless bees in different regions. The most abundant stingless bee for meliponiculture in Thailand is Tetragonula pagdeni. However, only a few studies about the properties of honey from a different origin were carried out. The objective of this study was focused on a comparative study to evaluate the melissopalynological, physicochemical, antioxidant activities, and total phenolic contents (TPCs) of stingless bee honey produced by T. pagdeni from different parts of Thailand.
Results: Fifty honey samples were collected from five locations, and the physicochemical properties of T. pagdeni honey samples are acidic (pH 3.02–4.15) and have a high water content (18.42–25.06 %w/w), which is related to the regions of meliponary. Melisopalynological analysis reveals the predominant pollen from Melaleuca quinquenervia, Cocus nuciferca, Nephelium lappaceum, Salacca wallichiana, and multiflora honey. All honey samples were analyzed for their TPC and 2,2-diphenyl1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity. The results show that all samples had high TPC and antioxidant activities with a strong correlation (p < 0.05).
Conclusions: The data from this study indicates the importance of geographical origin, which links physicochemical properties, phenolic compounds, and functional characteristics to their floral. Besides, the floral sources and harvesting location affected the properties of stingless bee honey. Our results identify Melaleuca honey as a promising source of phenolic content and antioxidant activity that can be used as a functional food, as well as multiflora and Cocus honey. However, further studies are required to characterize the phenolic compound and its biological potential, which could be a stingless bee honey biomarker and quality control, simultaneously with the physicochemical analysis.

Keywords: antioxidant activity, honey, melisopalynological analysis, stingless bee, Tetragonula pagdeni

Stats or Metrics

Share this article on

Related articles in JEE

more+

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Refund Policy
This journal was supported by the Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies Grant funded
by the Korean Government (Ministry of Education).
Business Registration) 205-82-04820 / Representative) Young-han Yoo
Close ✕

Journal of Ecology and Environment

pISSN 2287-8327 eISSN 2288-1220