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Comparison of honeys produced by the bee yateí (tetragonisca fiebrigi) in Argentina and Paraguay

Abstract:

Tetragonisca f iebrigi Schwarz 1938 is a stingless bee named yateí in Argentina and Paraguay. As well as other Meliponini species, this native bee stores honey in pots with acidity and moisture higher than the Apis mellifera L. honey standards. Sixteen T. fiebrigi honey samples produced in the county of Misiones, Argentina, and Itapuá department, Paraguay were compared according to their Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) by the method of the radica cation ABTS+, flavonoid with aluminium chloride and tota polyphenols contents with the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent. The properties between honeys from Argentina and Paraguay varied as follows in color (107.18±19.40 and 100.40±15.47 mm Pfund), moisture (23.89±1.74 and 23.68±0.78 g water/100 g honey), flavonoids (14.37±11.11 and 12.66±4.82 mg QE/100 g honey), poliphenols (240.74±94.05 and 148.29±17.75 mg GAE/100 g honey), and TEAC (160.15±60.50 and 120.91 ±38.67 ¡Trolox equivalents/100 g honey). The color, moisture, flavonoid and polyphenol contents did not vary significantly according to the geographical origin, but the TEAC was higher in the honeys from Argentina than in those from Paraguay. This characterization of yateí honey is a contribution to suggest its quality standards.