Honey is one of the most complex natural foodstuffs, consisting mainly of sugars but also rich in enzymes, amino acids, organic acids, carotenoids, vitamins, mineral salts, aromatic substances, and compounds that act as antioxidants such as flavonoids and phenolic acids. There are two types of honey commercially available: that produced by common honeybee and that produced by Meliponines.
The Meliponines are a particular tribe of Hymenoptera typical of tropical areas, such as South and Central America, Africa, Southwest Asia, and Australia, which are stingless; hence why are also referred as Stingless Bee. There are more than 500 species already classified and more others yet to be classified.
The honey produced by Stingless Bee has different properties from the one produced by common bee. When stingless bees collect nectar, this is mixed with substances they produce, such as salivary secretions and enzymes, to chemically modify it, before storing it in the hive cells. After the nectar is transformed into honey, the result is, a final product with a distinctive sweetness mixed with a sour and acidic taste.
The cost of Stingless Bee Honey is twice that of a traditional honey, given the lower productions and the absent industrialization of the product. There are also not enough rules for quality control, and it is much easier to encounter fraud.
Several analyses conducted on Stingless Bee Honey have revealed that, compared to Apis mellifera honey, it has a higher moisture content, higher acidity, and slightly lower total carbohydrate content, which, however, despite this, tastes sweeter: due to a higher fraction of fructose over the one of glucose. Several studies also report the higher number of bioactive compounds, with antioxidant and biological properties, making it an alternative antibacterial for infections and inflammations.
The great anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of stingless bee honey make it a potentially innovative product for the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industries.