A HONEY AUTHENTICITY TEST BY INTERPHASE EMULSION REVEALS BIOSURFACTANT ACTIVITY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY IN THE STINGLESS BEE NEST OF Scaptotrigona vitorum 'CATIANA' FROM ECUADOR

Abstract:

Bees are valuable pollinators of fruit crops and other flowering plants. Honey is a medicinal food of plant and animal origin, with a social impact on the wellbeing of bee keepers. The Neotropical apifauna has about 500 species of stingless bees (Meliponini). Commercial bee-keeping with Apis mellifera underestimates the cultural legacy of meliponiculture, and both are affected by the presence of fake honeys in the market. The alternative technique Honey Authenticity Test by Interphase Emulsion (HATIE) was investigated to detect false honeys. This technique based on an interphase emulsion test can be performed by bee-keepers, farmers, housekeepers, professionals and consumers of honey in general. Five genuine honeys produced by Apis mellifera, Geotrigona leucogastra, Melipona mimetica, Scaptotrigona vitorum, Tetragonisca angustula by a fake honey from Ecuador were analyzed. The HATIE was fast and effective to detect fake honey (two phases), and genuine honeys (one and three phases). A further screening of 51 Asian, Australian, European and Latinamerican honeys was done. Additionally, the HATIE generated a new application as the Honey Biosurfactant Test (HBT) of Scaptotrigona vitorum 'Catiana' (one phase) with a potential microbial origin, and its entomological origin in this set of honeys. 'Catiana' nests smell like Roquefort cheese, indicating a suspected fungi association with this rural stingless bee highlighted by its distribution, productivity, and the peculiarities described in this research, 80 years after the description of the new genus Scaptotrigona Moure, 1942. Paradoxically, this communication without microbiological analysis, infers the fungal presence in the nest of Scaptotrigona vitorum by sensory observations different from the classic sensory evaluation of honey.

Año de publicación:

2022

Keywords:

• Honey
• Honey Biosurfactant Test HBT
• Blue Cheese Odor
• Honey Authenticity Test by Interphase Emulsion HATIE
• MELIPONINI
• Scaptotrigona vitorum

Fuente:

scopus