Malays. Appl. Biol. (2018) 47(4): 145–151
PHYSICO-CHEMICAL ANALYSIS AND ANTIBACTERIAL
ACTIVITY OF RAW HONEY OF STINGLESS BEE FARMED
IN COASTAL AREAS IN KELANTAN AND TERENGGANU
NOR HAZWANI HASALI, AMIR IZZWAN ZAMRI*, MOHD NIZAM LANI, AIDILLA MUBARAK,
FISAL AHMAD and TUAN ZAINAZOR TUAN CHILEK
School of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT),
21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia
*E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Accepted 12 September 2018, Published online 25 October 2018
ABSTRACT
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the performance of three sources of stingless bee honey (Heterotrigona itama spp.) from different coastal areas in Kelantan and Terengganu. Antimicrobial tests were performed to determine the inhibition activity of stingless bee honey against food borne pathogens using agar well diffusion assay. Physico-chemical analyses of stingless bee honey were also determined. For proximate analysis, the results showed no significant differences (P>0.05) between stingless bee honey samples for pH and fat from different locations. However, significant differences (P<0.05) were obtained for moisture, ash, protein, carbohydrate and energy of the stingless bee honey samples. All three honey samples showed very good inhibitory activities (measured by inhibition zone) against Salmonella Typhimurium (25-33 mm), Eischerichia coli (17-33 mm), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (15-25 mm) and Staphylococcus aureus (25-29 mm). In conclusion, stingless bee honey has a broad-spectrum antibacterial activity and future study will investigate potential probiotics of these strains in food preparation.
Key words: Stingless bee honey, physico-chemical analysis, antibacterial activity, Heterotrigona itama spp.
