Effect of harvest time span on physicochemical properties, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory activities of Meliponinae honey
Wu, M.-C., et.al.
Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan
J Sci Food Agric, 102: 5750-5758.
The study found that honey’s age has a big effect on its quality and what it includes, and that honey from stingless bees has a lot of water, which can lead to fermentation and different flavours and properties. To make honey better, the time of harvest needs to be better managed. The researchers got honey from two kinds of stingless bees at different times and found that the honey with better antioxidant and antimicrobial activity came from bees that were harvested for longer amounts of time. But longer harvest times also caused the amount of water, trehalulose, protein, and overall acidity to rise, while the amount of sugars, glucose, and pH values fell. The study also found that the total amount of six organic acids in the 45-day honey of H. itama changed from 2.78 to 4.12 g per 100 g and went up from 1.66 to 3.61 g per 100 g in the 45-day honey of T. binghami. So, beekeepers should change when they collect to get honey with the right physical and chemical properties
Key research conclusions:
● The maturity of honey affects its quality and contents.
● Stingless bee honey contains high moisture, leading to variable flavor and properties.
● Better control of harvest time is necessary to improve honey quality.
● Longer harvest times produce honey with better antioxidant and antimicrobial activity.
● Longer harvest times also lead to increases in water, trehalulose, and protein content, as well as total acidity.
● Reducing sugars, fructose, glucose, and pH values decrease with longer harvest times.
● Organic acid content increases with longer harvest times.
● Beekeepers should adjust harvest time for suitable physicochemical parameters.
● The study found that the best time to harvest stingless bee honey varies based on the species.
● For Heterotrigona itama, the 45-day harvest time produced honey with the highest levels of organic acids.
● While for Tetrigona binghami, the 30-day and 45-day harvest times produced honey with the best physicochemical properties, antioxidant activity, and antimicrobial activity.
