Biochemical composition and bioactivity analysis of sour honey samples from Nagaland, Northeast India

Sour honey is a natural product produced by <i>Trigona</i> species, which is a stingless bee. The distribution of this honey is very low because of the limited knowledge and has resulted in being less popular in terms of industrial production and quality standard. The objective of the present study is the biochemical and bioactivity analysis of 7 sour honeys (<i>Trigona</i> species) and one sweet honey collected from Nagaland, Northeast India. The biochemical and physiochemical screening of all samples was performed. The results of these tests are certainly encouraging its utilization as food supplements. In the antioxidant assay, the honey samples have exhibited 31-81% (P &gt; 0.05) of inhibition on DPPH as compared to standard ascorbic acid. Antibacterial test of the 7 sour honey samples has displayed a zone of inhibition ranging from 12 ± 0.21 mm to 17 ± 0.5 mm (P &gt; 0.05)against <i>Escherichia coli.</i> The catalase and oxidase tests conducted on the isolated microbial colonies from honey samples expressed positive results. In HPLC analysis, the retention time of the highest peak in all samples (3.79- 3.84) was identical to the retention time of standards (3.79-3.87) at dilution 10⁻⁵ and a percentage of the area was nearly similar in all honey samples (11.93-14.84%) except SH₆ which has 19.92%. In brief, the beneficial effects of stingless bee honey in different contexts, such as biochemical components, physicochemical properties, quantification of sugars, antioxidant and antibacterial activity has experimented and all the results were positive. Further, these honey samples may have the probable potential for many nutraceuticals.

酸蜂蜜是由无刺蜂属（*Trigona*）蜂种生产的天然蜂产品，该类蜂隶属于无蛰蜂类。由于当前学界对其认知有限，这类蜂蜜的推广度极低，致使其在工业化生产及质量标准规范层面均未得到广泛推广。

本研究旨在对采自印度东北部那加兰邦的7份酸蜂蜜（无刺蜂属*Trigona*蜂种）与1份普通甜蜂蜜开展生化与生物活性分析。研究人员对全部受试样品开展了生化与理化性质表征筛查，各项测试结果均显示，该类蜂蜜具备开发为食品补充剂的良好潜力。

在抗氧化活性实验中，相较于抗坏血酸标准品，所有蜂蜜样品对1,1-二苯基-2-三硝基苯肼（DPPH）自由基的清除率介于31%~81%之间（P > 0.05）。针对7份酸蜂蜜样品的抗菌实验结果显示，其对大肠杆菌（*Escherichia coli*）的抑菌圈直径介于12±0.21 mm至17±0.5 mm之间（P > 0.05）。对从蜂蜜样品中分离得到的微生物菌落进行的过氧化氢酶与氧化酶实验结果均呈阳性。

高效液相色谱（HPLC）分析结果表明，所有样品中主峰的保留时间（3.79~3.84）与稀释10⁻⁵倍的标准品保留时间（3.79~3.87）完全一致；除SH₆的峰面积占比为19.92%外，其余所有蜂蜜样品的峰面积占比均介于11.93%~14.84%之间，数值相近。

综上，本研究针对无刺蜂蜂蜜的多项有益特性展开了实验探究，涵盖生化组分、理化性质、糖类定量、抗氧化与抗菌活性等多个维度，所有实验结果均呈阳性（正向）。此外，本次研究涉及的蜂蜜样品具备开发为多种营养保健品（nutraceuticals）的潜在应用价值。