The Antibacterial Potential of Honeydew Honey Produced by Stingless Bee (<i>Heterotrigona itama</i>) against Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria
Scientific studies about the antibacterial effects of honeydew honey produced by the stingless bee are very limited. In this study, the antibacterial activities of 46 blossom and honeydew honeys produced by both honey bees and stingless bees were evaluated and compared. All bacterial isolates showed...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2020-12-01
|
| Series: | Antibiotics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/9/12/871 |
| _version_ | 1797545561091473408 |
|---|---|
| author | Wen-Jie Ng Nam-Weng Sit Peter Aun-Chuan Ooi Kah-Yaw Ee Tuck-Meng Lim |
| author_facet | Wen-Jie Ng Nam-Weng Sit Peter Aun-Chuan Ooi Kah-Yaw Ee Tuck-Meng Lim |
| author_sort | Wen-Jie Ng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Scientific studies about the antibacterial effects of honeydew honey produced by the stingless bee are very limited. In this study, the antibacterial activities of 46 blossom and honeydew honeys produced by both honey bees and stingless bees were evaluated and compared. All bacterial isolates showed varying degrees of susceptibility to blossom and honeydew honeys produced by the honey bee (<i>Apis cerana</i>) and stingless bee (<i>Heterotrigona itama</i> and <i>Geniotrigona thoracica</i>) in agar-well diffusion. All stingless bee honeys managed to inhibit all the isolates but only four out of 23 honey bee honeys achieved that. In comparison with <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>, <i>Escherichia coli</i> was found to be more susceptible to the antibacterial effects of honey. Bactericidal effects of stingless bee honeys on <i>E. coli</i> were determined with the measurement of endotoxins released due to cell lysis. Based on the outcomes, the greatest antibacterial effects were observed in honeydew honey produced by <i>H. itama</i>. Scanning electron microscopic images revealed the morphological alteration and destruction of <i>E. coli</i> due to the action of this honey. The combination of this honey with antibiotics showed synergistic inhibitory effects on <i>E. coli</i> clinical isolates. This study revealed that honeydew honey produced by <i>H. itama</i> stingless bee has promising antibacterial activity against pathogenic bacteria, including antibiotic resistant strains. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:18:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-18f788f697804f09a2693e272df73992 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-6382 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:18:09Z |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Antibiotics |
| spelling | doaj.art-18f788f697804f09a2693e272df739922023-11-20T23:35:38ZengMDPI AGAntibiotics2079-63822020-12-0191287110.3390/antibiotics9120871The Antibacterial Potential of Honeydew Honey Produced by Stingless Bee (<i>Heterotrigona itama</i>) against Antibiotic Resistant BacteriaWen-Jie Ng0Nam-Weng Sit1Peter Aun-Chuan Ooi2Kah-Yaw Ee3Tuck-Meng Lim4Faculty of Science, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kampar 31900, MalaysiaFaculty of Science, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kampar 31900, MalaysiaFaculty of Science, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kampar 31900, MalaysiaFaculty of Science, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kampar 31900, MalaysiaFaculty of Science, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kampar 31900, MalaysiaScientific studies about the antibacterial effects of honeydew honey produced by the stingless bee are very limited. In this study, the antibacterial activities of 46 blossom and honeydew honeys produced by both honey bees and stingless bees were evaluated and compared. All bacterial isolates showed varying degrees of susceptibility to blossom and honeydew honeys produced by the honey bee (<i>Apis cerana</i>) and stingless bee (<i>Heterotrigona itama</i> and <i>Geniotrigona thoracica</i>) in agar-well diffusion. All stingless bee honeys managed to inhibit all the isolates but only four out of 23 honey bee honeys achieved that. In comparison with <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>, <i>Escherichia coli</i> was found to be more susceptible to the antibacterial effects of honey. Bactericidal effects of stingless bee honeys on <i>E. coli</i> were determined with the measurement of endotoxins released due to cell lysis. Based on the outcomes, the greatest antibacterial effects were observed in honeydew honey produced by <i>H. itama</i>. Scanning electron microscopic images revealed the morphological alteration and destruction of <i>E. coli</i> due to the action of this honey. The combination of this honey with antibiotics showed synergistic inhibitory effects on <i>E. coli</i> clinical isolates. This study revealed that honeydew honey produced by <i>H. itama</i> stingless bee has promising antibacterial activity against pathogenic bacteria, including antibiotic resistant strains.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/9/12/871blossom honeyhoneydew<i>Apis cerana</i><i>Geniotrigona</i><i>Heterotrigona</i>agar-well diffusion |
| spellingShingle | Wen-Jie Ng Nam-Weng Sit Peter Aun-Chuan Ooi Kah-Yaw Ee Tuck-Meng Lim The Antibacterial Potential of Honeydew Honey Produced by Stingless Bee (<i>Heterotrigona itama</i>) against Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Antibiotics blossom honey honeydew <i>Apis cerana</i> <i>Geniotrigona</i> <i>Heterotrigona</i> agar-well diffusion |
| title | The Antibacterial Potential of Honeydew Honey Produced by Stingless Bee (<i>Heterotrigona itama</i>) against Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria |
| title_full | The Antibacterial Potential of Honeydew Honey Produced by Stingless Bee (<i>Heterotrigona itama</i>) against Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria |
| title_fullStr | The Antibacterial Potential of Honeydew Honey Produced by Stingless Bee (<i>Heterotrigona itama</i>) against Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Antibacterial Potential of Honeydew Honey Produced by Stingless Bee (<i>Heterotrigona itama</i>) against Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria |
| title_short | The Antibacterial Potential of Honeydew Honey Produced by Stingless Bee (<i>Heterotrigona itama</i>) against Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria |
| title_sort | antibacterial potential of honeydew honey produced by stingless bee i heterotrigona itama i against antibiotic resistant bacteria |
| topic | blossom honey honeydew <i>Apis cerana</i> <i>Geniotrigona</i> <i>Heterotrigona</i> agar-well diffusion |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/9/12/871 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT wenjieng theantibacterialpotentialofhoneydewhoneyproducedbystinglessbeeiheterotrigonaitamaiagainstantibioticresistantbacteria AT namwengsit theantibacterialpotentialofhoneydewhoneyproducedbystinglessbeeiheterotrigonaitamaiagainstantibioticresistantbacteria AT peteraunchuanooi theantibacterialpotentialofhoneydewhoneyproducedbystinglessbeeiheterotrigonaitamaiagainstantibioticresistantbacteria AT kahyawee theantibacterialpotentialofhoneydewhoneyproducedbystinglessbeeiheterotrigonaitamaiagainstantibioticresistantbacteria AT tuckmenglim theantibacterialpotentialofhoneydewhoneyproducedbystinglessbeeiheterotrigonaitamaiagainstantibioticresistantbacteria AT wenjieng antibacterialpotentialofhoneydewhoneyproducedbystinglessbeeiheterotrigonaitamaiagainstantibioticresistantbacteria AT namwengsit antibacterialpotentialofhoneydewhoneyproducedbystinglessbeeiheterotrigonaitamaiagainstantibioticresistantbacteria AT peteraunchuanooi antibacterialpotentialofhoneydewhoneyproducedbystinglessbeeiheterotrigonaitamaiagainstantibioticresistantbacteria AT kahyawee antibacterialpotentialofhoneydewhoneyproducedbystinglessbeeiheterotrigonaitamaiagainstantibioticresistantbacteria AT tuckmenglim antibacterialpotentialofhoneydewhoneyproducedbystinglessbeeiheterotrigonaitamaiagainstantibioticresistantbacteria |