Honey is a versatile and complex substance consisting of bioactive chemicals which vary according to many bee and environmental factors. The aim of this study was to assess the physical and antimicrobial properties of five honey samples obtained from three species of bees; two stingless bees, Frieseomelitta nigra and Melipona favosa and one stinging bee, Apis mellifera (fresh and aged honey). Samples were acquired from apiaries across Trinidad and Tobago. An artificial honey, made from sugar, was also used for comparison. Physical properties such as appearance, pH, moisture content, sugar content and specific gravity were determined. Antimicrobial activity was assessed utilizing the agar diffusion assay and comparison to a phenol equivalence. The broth microdilution test was performed to determine the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and the minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) of the five honey samples against four common pathogens, including Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus pyogenes and Haemophilus influenzae. All honey samples were acidic, with pH values ranging from 2.88 (M. favosa of Tobago) to 3.91 (fresh A. mellifera). Sugar content ranged from 66.0 to 81.6% with the highest values detected in stinging bee honeys of the A. mellifera (81.6 and 80.5°Bx). Moisture content ranged from 16.9% for aged A. mellifera honey (from Trinidad) to 32.4% for F. nigra honey (from Tobago). The MICs (2 to 16%) and MBCs (2 to 32%) of stingless bee honeys were lower than that of stinging bee and artificial honeys (16 to > 32%). Stingless bee honeys also exhibited a broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms with higher phenol equivalence values (4.5 to 28.6%) than the A. mellifera honeys (0 to 3.4%) against the isolates tested. M. favosa honey of Tobago displayed the greatest antimicrobial activity as indicated by the high phenol equivalence and low MIC and MBC values. Stingless bee honeys from Tobago showed the greatest antimicrobial activity when compared to the other honeys used in this study. M. favosa honey of Tobago showed the most potential for use as medicinal honey.

中文翻译：

---

特立尼达和多巴哥蜜蜂的蜜蜂，蜜蜂和黑蜂蜜蜂的物理特性和抗菌特性。

蜂蜜是一种多用途且复杂的物质，由生物活性化学物质组成，这些化学活性物质会根据许多蜜蜂和环境因素而变化。这项研究的目的是评估从三种蜜蜂中获得的五个蜂蜜样品的物理和抗菌特性。两只无刺蜂，Freeseomelitta nigra和Melipona favosa，和一只刺蜂，Apis mellifera（新鲜和陈年的蜂蜜）。从特立尼达和多巴哥的养蜂场采集样品。由糖制成的人造蜂蜜也用于比较。测定了外观，pH，水分含量，糖含量和比重等物理性质。利用琼脂扩散测定法评估抗微生物活性，并与苯酚当量进行比较。进行肉汤微量稀释测试，以确定五个蜂蜜样品对四种常见病原体（包括金黄色葡萄球菌，大肠杆菌，化脓性链球菌和流感嗜血杆菌）的最低抑菌浓度（MIC）和最低杀菌浓度（MBC）。所有蜂蜜样品均为酸性，pH值范围为2.88（多巴哥青霉）至3.91（新鲜A. mellifera）。含糖量在66.0％至81.6％之间，最高的含量是在A. mellifera的刺蜂蜂蜜中检测到的（81.6和80.5°Bx）。水分含量范围从陈年的A. mellifera蜂蜜（来自特立尼达）到12.4％的F. nigra蜂蜜（来自多巴哥）到32.4％。无刺蜂蜂蜜的MIC（2至16％）和MBC（2至32％）低于刺蜂和人工蜂蜜的MIC（16至> 32％）。无刺蜂蜂蜜对革兰氏阳性和革兰氏阴性菌均表现出广谱的抗菌活性，其苯酚当量值（4.5至28.6％）高于A. mellifera蜂蜜（0至3.4％）对测试的分离物。如多巴哥的M. favosa蜂蜜显示出最大的抗菌活性，这是由高苯酚当量以及较低的MIC和MBC值表明的。与本研究中使用的其他蜂蜜相比，来自多巴哥的无刺蜂蜂蜜显示出最大的抗菌活性。多巴哥的favosa蜂蜜显示出最有可能用作药用蜂蜜。多巴哥的favosa蜂蜜显示出最大的抗菌活性，这与高苯酚当量以及MIC和MBC值低有关。与本研究中使用的其他蜂蜜相比，来自多巴哥的无刺蜂蜂蜜显示出最大的抗菌活性。多巴哥的favosa蜂蜜显示出最有可能用作药用蜂蜜。多巴哥的favosa蜂蜜显示出最大的抗菌活性，这与高苯酚当量以及MIC和MBC值低有关。与本研究中使用的其他蜂蜜相比，来自多巴哥的无刺蜂蜂蜜显示出最大的抗菌活性。多巴哥的M. favosa蜂蜜显示出最有可能用作药用蜂蜜。