Honeys derived from plants of the coastal sandplains of Western Australia: antibacterial and antioxidant activity, and other characteristics

Honeys produced by Apis mellifera from different flowering plants can vary widely in their characteristics. Some floral sources yield honeys with especially high antibacterial and/or antioxidant activity, which may be candidates for further evaluation as therapeutic agents. This study investigated 115 honeys harvested from three Western Australian coastal bioregions: the Swan coastal plain, Geraldton sandplains and Dampierland. Honeys were derived from a range of floral sources, including Agonis, Banksia, Calothamnus, Callistemon, Eucalyptus, Leptospermum and Melaleuca, and several multifloral honeys including wildflower honey were also included. HPTLC fingerprinting was used to analyse the phenolics fractions of all honeys and fingerprints were analysed to attempt to verify the floral source of each honey. Typical fingerprints were discernible for the four honeys derived from Agonis flexuosa, Banksia sessilis, Banksia menziesii and Calothamnus. Antibacterial and anti-oxidant activity was quantified for all honeys and showed that Calothamnus honeys had the highest activity for both, and also contained the highest levels of phenolics. Hydrogen peroxide, colour and water content were also determined. Data obtained for all 115 honeys were analysed by principal component analysis to investigate broad trends, and showed that colour, total phenolics and antioxidant activity correlated strongly, whereas antibacterial activity was not strongly correlated with any other factors. Data obtained for individual floral sources were analysed by one-way analysis of variance and revealed significant differences between some honey types, supporting the hypothesis that honeys derived from different floral sources vary in important characteristics such as antibacterial and antioxidant activity.

由西方蜜蜂（Apis mellifera）采集自不同显花植物所酿造的蜂蜜，其品质特性差异显著。部分蜜源植物所产的蜂蜜具备极高的抗菌与/或抗氧化活性，这类蜂蜜有望作为治疗制剂开展进一步评估研究。本研究共分析了采自澳大利亚西部三个沿海生物地理区的115份蜂蜜样本，分别为天鹅沿海平原（Swan coastal plain）、杰拉尔顿沙原（Geraldton sandplains）以及丹皮尔地（Dampierland）。本次研究的蜂蜜样本蜜源涵盖多类植物，包括细籽属（Agonis）、山龙眼属（Banksia）、澳红花属（Calothamnus）、红千层属（Callistemon）、桉属（Eucalyptus）、薄子木属（Leptospermum）以及白千层属（Melaleuca），同时纳入了包括野花蜂蜜在内的多款多花蜂蜜样本。采用高效薄层色谱（HPTLC）指纹图谱法对所有蜂蜜的酚类组分进行分析，并通过解析指纹图谱尝试确认每份蜂蜜的蜜源来源。细叶细籽（Agonis flexuosa）、银桦山龙眼（Banksia sessilis）、曼氏山龙眼（Banksia menziesii）以及澳红花属（Calothamnus）所产的四款蜂蜜，均可获得特征性的指纹图谱。对所有样本的抗菌与抗氧化活性进行定量检测后发现，澳红花属蜂蜜的两项活性均为最高，同时其酚类物质含量也处于所有样本之首。此外还测定了所有样本的过氧化氢含量、色泽以及水分含量。采用主成分分析法对115份蜂蜜的整体数据进行趋势分析，结果显示色泽、总酚含量与抗氧化活性三者之间存在显著相关性，而抗菌活性与其余各项指标均无较强关联。针对单一蜜源的样本数据采用单因素方差分析进行检验，结果显示部分蜂蜜类型之间存在显著差异，验证了“不同蜜源所产蜂蜜在抗菌、抗氧化活性等关键特性上存在差异”这一假说。