Antioxidant Capacity and Phenolic Content of Stingless Bee Honey from Amazon in Comparison to Apis Bee Honey

The aim of this work was to evaluate the total phenolic and flavonoid contents and the antioxidant activity of Meliponinae stingless honey samples collected in Amazon state, in Brazil, in comparison to monofloral Apis mellifera bee honey. Stingless bee honey samples were purchased directly from beekeepers during 2000 and 2005, while the Apis bee honey samples (eucalyptus and orange) were purchased from beekeepers in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Phenolic compounds were isolated from the honey matrix and total phenolic content was measured with the Folin Ciocalteau reagent, while flavonoid content was determined after complex formation with AlCl3. Antioxidant activity was measured by the DPPH (1,1-diphenylphycrasyl) methodology. Apis bee honey (eucalyptus) had higher phenolic and flavonoid contents (5.7 and 1.7 mg/100g of honey respectively) than all the others stinglesss bee honey samples analyzed. Honey from Melipona subnitida, harvested in 2004, showed the highest DPPH scavenging activity among all the analyzed samples (IC50 = 5.9 mu g/mL), despite the lowest total phenolic content (0.6 mg/100 g). The results show that stingless bee honey form Amazon has good antioxidant activity besides its nutritional value.