Composition and antioxidant activity of honey from Africanized and stingless bees in Alagoas (Brazil): a multivariate analysis

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant activity of honey from different entomological sources which were harvested in the dry season of 2008-2009 from distinct mesoregions of the State of Alagoas in the North East of Brazil. Honey produced by five different species of bees, even f...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of apicultural research Vol. 51; no. 1; pp. 23 - 35
Main Authors Duarte, Alysson Wagner Fernandes, dos Santos Vasconcelos, Maria Raphaella, de Menezes, Adriana Pereira Domarques, da Silva, Silvio Chagas, Oda-souza, Melissa, López, Ana Maria Queijeiro
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Taylor & Francis 01.01.2012
Subjects
antioxidant
honey
principal component analysis
stingless bees
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:The purpose of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant activity of honey from different entomological sources which were harvested in the dry season of 2008-2009 from distinct mesoregions of the State of Alagoas in the North East of Brazil. Honey produced by five different species of bees, even from the same region and season, showed a statistically significant difference (p <0.05) in the content of phenols, flavonoids and antioxidants, with higher levels of these compounds found in honey produced by Plebeia spp. and A. mellifera. Honey from stingless bees was quite different from that of A. mellifera, especially from the Plebeia spp. A dendrogram of the five species of bees showed the formation of 3 groups, one being formed by Apis mellifera, one by the genus Melipona (M. subnitida, M. quadrifasciata and M. scutellaria and another formed by Plebeia spp.
ISSN:0021-8839
2078-6913
DOI:10.3896/IBRA.1.51.1.04