Identification of honey volatile compounds by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) and its biological activity / Siti Khuzaifah Joha

The issue regarding the fate of honey products is emerging widely in the market. To differentiate between fate honey and original honey, the chemical and biological profiles of stingless bee honey are essential to fraud and to guarantee the authenticity of the honey. Thus, this study aimed to identify the volatile chemical compounds of stingless bee honey using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy (GC-MS). In addition, this study assessed the total phenolic and flavonoid content, which were determined spectrophotometrically. Biological activities, such as the antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of the Trigona itama sample, were also assayed using 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and minimum inhibitory and bactericidal concentrations assays.
The GC spectral data revealed that the major chemical classes found in honey are ether and phenol. One of the major compounds is butylated hydroxytoluene. Besides, 7,15-dihydroxydehydroadiabetic acid and benzene-ethanamine are reported for the first time. The honey sample recorded high total phenolic content of 92.97±1.2 mg GAE/g extract and total flavonoid content of 98.77±0.85 mg QUE/g extract. In addition, the honey samples also exhibited strong antioxidant activities with IC50 of 4.62 μg/mL, comparable with the positive control, quercetin (IC50 = 1.59 μg/mL). The stingless bee honey also demonstrated
moderate antimicrobial activity against all the tested bacteria, namely Staphylococcus aureus (SA), Streptococcus pyogenes (SP), Escherichia coli (EC), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA). The findings from this study indicated that stingless bee (Trigona itama) honey could be a strong antioxidant agent and a potent inhibitor of all tested bacteria, SA, SP, EC, and PA. The data obtained from this study will serve as basic information for further product development and increase the commercialization potential.