A review on factors that affect the different physicochemical and antioxidant properties of stingless bee (heterotrigona itama) honey in Malaysia / Reem Mat Asli and Mohd Hilmi Hassan

Predominantly, it has been stated that stingless bee honey is higher nutritional values than honeybee honey. However, there have been limited studies on its quality. The quality of stingless bee honey also has been questioned and documented to not meet the International Honey Commission (IHC) quality standards set for honey. This review aims to identify the factors that affect the different physicochemical characteristics and antioxidant properties of stingless bee honey in Malaysia. Based on recent studies, the physicochemical and antioxidant properties of Malaysian stingless bee honey were gathered and compared. Various aspects such as moisture content, pH, colour, electrical conductivity (EC), ash content, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC) and free radical scavenging activity (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) were analysed. As a result, stingless bee honey possessed greater moisture content ranging between (17.07 - 41.49%), pH (2.92 – 5.50), DPPH (1.98 – 44.05%), TPC (3.04 – 9.37mg GAE/100g), TFC (3.63 – 14.44mg QUE/100g), colour intensity (0.09 – 1.056mAU), EC (0.19 – 1.187mS/cm), lower ash content (0.01 – 3.11%), HMF (0.04 – 85.9mg/kg) and FRAP (0.19 – 0.22abs). The findings revealed that the physicochemical and antioxidant properties of the stingless bee honey investigated were highly dependent on several factors such as botanical sources, geographical origins, climatic condition, environmental pollution, beekeeping’s processing, handling, and storage conditions which must be taken into consideration for future research.