Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia.
Biosecurity Queensland, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Brisbane, QLD, 4108, Australia.
Sci Rep. 2020 Jul 22;10(1):12128. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-68940-0.
Stingless bee (Meliponini) honey has long been considered a high-value functional food, but the perceived therapeutic value has lacked attribution to specific bioactive components. Examination of honey from five different stingless bee species across Neotropical and Indo-Australian regions has enabled for the first time the identification of the unusual disaccharide trehalulose as a major component representing between 13 and 44 g per 100 g of each of these honeys. Trehalulose is an isomer of sucrose with an unusual α-(1 → 1) glucose-fructose glycosidic linkage and known acariogenic and low glycemic index properties. NMR and UPLC-MS/MS analysis unambiguously confirmed the identity of trehalulose isolated from stingless bee honeys sourced across three continents, from Tetragonula carbonaria and Tetragonula hockingsi species in Australia, from Geniotrigona thoracica and Heterotrigona itama in Malaysia and from Tetragonisca angustula in Brazil. The previously unrecognised abundance of trehalulose in stingless bee honeys is concrete evidence that supports some of the reported health attributes of this product. This is the first identification of trehalulose as a major component within a food commodity. This study allows the exploration of the expanded use of stingless bee honey in foods and identifies a bioactive marker for authentication of this honey in associated food standards.
无刺蜜蜂（Meliponini）蜂蜜一直被认为是一种高价值的功能性食品，但人们认为的治疗价值缺乏对特定生物活性成分的归因。对来自新热带和印度-澳大利亚地区的五种不同无刺蜜蜂物种的蜂蜜进行检查，首次能够确定不寻常的二糖海藻糖为主要成分，每种蜂蜜中代表 13 至 44 克。海藻糖是蔗糖的异构体，具有不寻常的α-（1→1）葡萄糖-果糖糖苷键，具有已知的致龋性和低血糖指数特性。NMR 和 UPLC-MS/MS 分析明确证实了从澳大利亚的 Tetragonula carbonaria 和 Tetragonula hockingsi 物种、马来西亚的 Geniotrigona thoracica 和 Heterotrigona itama 以及巴西的 Tetragonisca angustula 采集的无刺蜜蜂蜂蜜中分离出的海藻糖的身份。海藻糖在无刺蜜蜂蜂蜜中以前未被识别的丰富程度为该产品的一些报道的健康属性提供了确凿的证据。这是首次在食品商品中鉴定出海藻糖作为主要成分。本研究允许探索在食品中扩大使用无刺蜜蜂蜂蜜，并确定了一种生物活性标志物，用于相关食品标准中该蜂蜜的认证。
