The content of propolis’s flavonoid from two species of stingless bee in Lombok

Abstract

Today’s stingless bees are in great demand by beekeepers in Lombok. Besides producing honey, it also produces propolis which has more value. Propolis or bee glue is a substance produced by honey bees collected from the top young leaves mixed with the saliva, patch, and hive sterilization. This substance could be used for antibacterial, antivirus, antifungal, and anti-protozoa. In Lombok, apiculture for stingless bees has spread in almost every district. Northern Lombok, West Lombok, and East Lombok were the first three locations that developed stingless bees. This study aimed to identify the species of stingless bees and their propolis productivity and characteristics produced by each species. There were two species of stingless bees cultivated by the people of Lombok, Trigona clypearis and Trigona sapiens. The development of science, genus Trigona changed nomenclature into Tetragonula. The yield of propolis through extraction using water or Aqueous Extraction Propolis (AEP) produced by T. clypearis was 34-55% and T. sapiens was in the range of 3-24%. The flavonoid content equivalent to quercetin in propolis produced by T. sapiens as vary as T. clypearis. The results of this study could be used as a baseline for other propolis extraction activities to produce propolis more marketable.