Ferulic acid as major antioxidant phenolic compound of the Tetragonisca angustula honey collected in Vera Cruz - Itaparica Island, Bahia, Brazil.

A S Nascimento,A M Pinheiro,A Branco,C A L Carvalho,A V R Mendonça,S M P C Silva,R Braz Filho,Â C O Lima,K O Carneiro,I J C Vieira,I M A Reis,E R Dias

doi:10.1590/1519-6984.253599

Abstract

The antioxidant activity of Tetragonisca angustula honey (TAH) and its ethanolic extract (TAEE) were investigated. The total levels of phenolic (TPC) and flavonoids (TFC) were also evaluated. The results for TPC were 19.91 ± 0.38 and 29.37 ± 1.82 mg GAE g-1 and for TFC 0.20 ± 0.02 and 0.14 ± 0.01 mg QE g-1 of TAH and TAEE, respectively. Antioxidant activities were 73.29 ± 0.49% and 93.36 ± 0.27% in the DPPH● assay and 71.73 ± 4.07% and 97.86 ± 0.35% in ABTS●+ for TAH and TAEE, respectively. The total reducing activity was determined by the method of reducing power (PR) and iron ion (Fe III) and the results varied in PR from 151.7 ± 25.7 and 230.7 ± 25.2 mg GAE L-1, for TAH and TAEE respectively and for (Fe III) in EC50 0.284 in TAEE and 0.687 in TAH. Chemical analysis by HPLC-DAD of the ethanolic extract (TAEE) revealed the presence of ferulic acid as majority phenolic component in the extract. The 1H NMR analysis confirmed this structure and showed the also presence of glucose, citric acid, succinic acid, proline and hydrocarbon derivatives. In addition, the botanical origin was also investigated and showed a multifloral characteristic, having found 19 pollen types with a botanical predominance of the Anacardiaceae family, with Tapirira pollen occurring as predominant (42.6%) and Schinus as secondary (25.7%). The results showed that T. angustula honey is an interesting source of antioxidant phenolic compounds due to its floral origin and can act as a protector of human health when consumed.

Highlights

Jatai bee (Tetragonisca angustula) is an adaptable species of stingless bee that can be raised both in rural and urban areas (Grüter et al, 2011)
The ethanol extract (TAEE) of the Tetragonisca angustula honey collected in the municipality of Vera Cruz on Itaparica Island (12o 57’ 32”S x 38o 36’ 16”W), registered with SISGEN under No AA64E09, was prepared using Ethanol PA (1:3) according to the methodology of Siess et al (1996), modified by Trusheva et al (2007)
Aliquots (2.5 g) of Tetragonisca angustula honey (TAH) and TAEE were diluted in 25 mL distilled water (100 mg/mL concentration) of stock solution, in 0.5 ml of this solution 2.5 ml of 0.2 N Folin-Ciocalteu reagent was added for 5 min

Summary

Introduction

Jatai bee (Tetragonisca angustula) is an adaptable species of stingless bee that can be raised both in rural and urban areas (Grüter et al, 2011). Honey is the result of nectar and saccharin exudation of plants, collected, modified and stored by honey bees It has a complex mixture composed mainly of water, carbohydrates, fatty acids, proteins, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, natural products and phenolic compounds. These phenolic compounds are largely responsible for the antioxidant activity of honey and can act as free radical reducing agents or as chelators of pro-oxidant metal ions, but they can modulate several intracellular pathways (Wang and Lin, 2000; Alvarez-Suarez et al, 2012). Honeys produced by distinct bee species or collected from different locations have different active compounds and, differ as for their biological properties

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