Sucrose Syrup Research Articles

Perbandingan Fisik dan Organoleptik Antara Marshmallow dengan Bahan Dasar Gelatin yang Berbeda

This study aims to determine the comparison of physical and orgnoleptic qualities between marshmallows made from chicken claws and cow skin with the parameters being tested for taste, chewiness, texture and preference. This research was conducted in July-August 2020 at the laboratory of the Boyolali Veterinary Public Health Service Center and tested on panelists at the Daarul Arqom Tulung Modern Islamic Boarding School, Klaten. The material used consists of two, namely raw materials and manufacturing tools. First, the materials used to make gelatin in this study include chicken claws, cow skin, acetic acid, water, sodium disulfide S), calcium hydroxide ( ) and HCl. Meanwhile, the ingredients used include chicken claw gelatin, cow skin gelatin, vanilla, sucrose syrup, sugar, cornstarch, sugar flour and water. The tools used include basins, measuring cups, scales, scissors, waterbath (water bath), filter paper, vacuum filters, oven and blender. The results of the analysis of various organoleptic tests in this study which included texture, chewiness, taste and liking had a significant difference of P <0.01, namely that marshmallows with cowhide were better than marshmallows with chicken claw as the basic ingredient. The conclusion of the comparative study between marshmallow with gelatin as a base ingredient of cow skin gelatin is superior to that of chicken claw gelatin.
 Keywords:marshmallow, cowhide, chicken claw

Investigation methods for detecting honey samples adulterated with sucrose syrup

Various adulterations and thermal treatments applied to honey during or after production interfere with the natural structure of honey and reduce its nutritional value. In this study, three different honey samples were adulterated with sucrose (sugar beet) syrup at the ratios of 0, 10, 20, 40, and 50 % in weight to prepare adulterated honey samples. HPLC was used for the sugar analysis while an atomic absorption (AA) spectrophotometer was used for the potassium and sodium analyses, and other chemical and physical analyses were conducted on these adulterated honey samples. The PCA analysis results showed that the parameters analysed in this study can also be used in the analysis of adulterated honey. As a result, it was determined that some components of the samples that had been adulterated by the addition of sucrose at ratios as high as 50 % may go out of the known variation ranges; in other words, they push the limits. An increase was found in the 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) amounts in the thermally treated samples while a reduction was observed in diastase activity. These results may be considered an indicator of the fact that honey has been heated.

A fermented Pollen Substitute Diet Affects Wax Construction by Honey Bee Workers, (Apies mellifera L.)

Pollen substitute diets have become increasingly important for maintaining strong and healthy honey bee colonies. Palatability and nutritional value are key attributes of a good diet. Since beebread, which is pollen fermented by the bees, is the main food of the worker-nurse bees that feed and care for the bee larvae, pollen substitutes should have similar attributes. In an attempt to simulate this natural food source, an inoculum prepared from beebread was used to ferment a pollen substitute diet. In this study, it was determined the differences in the wax building by caged workers fed with different diets (sucrose syrup only, bee bread, unfermented pollen substitute diet and fermented pollen substitute diet). Comb building in honeybees was analyzed with respect to the type of food. The effects on wax combs building were assessed of the presence of beeswax foundation, and of feeding honey bees in cages. Workers fed on unfermented diets produced significantly less wax than did those fed on the fermented diets; although variation in wax production among the treatments was not significant. We conclude that fermentation by beebread-derived microorganisms could improve the palatability, consumption and nutritional value of the dies and the behavioral activities such as wax building by honey bee workers.

Classification and Prediction of Bee Honey Indirect Adulteration Using Physiochemical Properties Coupled with K-Means Clustering and Simulated Annealing-Artificial Neural Networks (SA-ANNs)

The higher demand and limited availability of honey led to different forms of honey adulteration. Honey adulteration is either direct by addition of various syrups to natural honey or indirect by feeding honey bees with sugar syrups. Therefore, a need has emerged for reliable and cost-effective quality control methods to detect honey adulteration in order to ensure both safety and quality of honey. In this study, honey is adulterated by feeding honey bees with various proportions of sucrose syrup (0 to 100%). Various physiochemical properties of the adulterated honey are studied including sugar profile, pH, acidity, moisture, and color. The results showed that increasing sucrose syrup in the feed resulted in a decrease in glucose and fructose contents significantly, from 33.4 to 29.1% and 45.2 to 35.9%, respectively. Sucrose content, however, increased significantly from 0.19 to 1.8%. The pH value increased significantly from 3.04 to 4.63 with increase in sucrose feed. Acidity decreased slightly but nonsignificantly with increase in sucrose feed and varied between 7.0 and 4.00 meq/kg for 0% and 100% sucrose, respectively. Honey’s lightness (L value) also increased significantly from 59.3 to 68.84 as sucrose feed increased. Other color parameters were not significantly changed by sucrose feed. K-means clustering is used to classify the level of honey adulteration by using the above physiological properties. The classification results showed that both glucose content and total sugar content provided 100% accurate classification while pH values provided the worst results with 52% classification accuracy. To further predict the percent honey adulteration, simulated annealing coupled with artificial neural networks (SA-ANNs) was used with sugar profile as an input. RBF-ANN was found to provide the best prediction results with SSE = 0.073, RE = 0.021, and overall R2 = 0.992. It is concluded that honey sugar profile can provide an accurate and reliable tool for detecting indirect honey adulteration by sucrose solution.

The Effect of An Alternative Diet Fermented by Bee Bread Microorganisms on Hypopharyngeal Glands Development and Acini Size of Honey Bee Workers, (Apis mellifera L.)

The hypopharyngeal glands of worker bees located in the head; consist of thousands of two-cell units that are composed of a secretory cell and a duct cell and that are arranged in sets of about 12 around a long collecting duct. The glands contribute to the production of the royal jelly fed to queens and larvae. They are highly sensitive to the quantity and quality of the food as pollen and pollen substitutes that the nurse bee consumes. The role of the worker honey bee Apis mellifera L. changes depending on age after eclosion (age polyethism): young workers (nurse bees) take care of their brood by synthesizing and secreting brood food (royal jelly), while older workers (foragers) forage for nectar and process it into honey. In our experiment, we tested how diets impact hypopharyngeal gland development and their acini size, where our diets compared were (bee bread diet; unfermented diet; fermented diet in a simulation method for nature; and sucrose syrup). Also, we mentioned understanding the role of these glands in hive health. For this study, we have examined the morphogenesis of the hypopharyngeal gland during different ages of workers honeybee Apis mellifera L. that fed on the different diets; we measured the size of glandular acini in a robust measure. These results obtained indicated that the hypopharyngeal gland development has flexibility and can depending on the condition of the colony as the pollen substitute diet we prepared in the periods of food shortage in nature. This described the hypothesis that feeding plays an important role in the development of HG according to diet nutritional values, ensuring the importance of the fermentation process for the better health of honey bees.

Effects of mercury at field estimated concentration in brain of Bombus atratus (Hymenoptera: Bombini)

Although mercury neurotoxic effects are well known in several species, it is poorly studied in bees. Mercury contamination is increasing in several regions of the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest due to illegal and indiscriminate gold mining. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of mercury (Hg) in brain Kenyon cells of foraging workers of Bombus atratus exposed to an average concentration (110 ppb) found in pots of honey from native bees of South America and Australia. Twenty forager workers were collected in the field (23° 34′ S 47° 31′ W), divided into control (n = 10) and exposed (n = 10) groups, and individually kept in special boxes for 48 h. For the exposed group, we offered Hg solution (at 110 ppb) ad libitum, while for the control group we offered water, and for both sucrose syrup at 70%. After the exposure time, the bees were crio-anesthezied at 4 °C. Brains were dissected and processed for morphological, morphometric, and histochemical analyses. Morphological results showed that the Kenyon cells of the Hg-exposed group presented both cytoplasmic vacuolization and nuclear pyknosis, which indicate cell death. These findings were corroborated by the acridine orange staining. Hg exposure also induced significant nuclear chromatin compaction in Kenyon cells. The calyces and peduncles of the mushroom bodies showed disorganization and vacuolization. In summary, these changes may imply in a severe impairment of the cognitive abilities of the bees, which could lead them to the loss of many tasks, such as foraging or even nest founding by the queen.

A new design of bee cage for laboratory experiments: nutritional assessment of supplemental diets in honey bees (Apis mellifera)

We designed a cage that can maintain adult bees for 21 days with about 90% survival rate, in addition to facilitating the changing of sucrose syrup and beebread, and collection of live and dead bees without disturbing or releasing bees. The consumption rates of bee pollen diet and sucrose syrup for groups of 50–200 honey bees were recorded for 21 days after emergence. The bees consumed the bee pollen diet mainly at the age of 1–9 days. Regular consumption of sucrose syrup was observed among all bee groups throughout the 21 days. Furthermore, the nutritional responses of nurse bees—specifically, the expressions of major royal jelly protein 1 (mrjp1) in the head and vitellogenin (vg) in the abdomen—upon the provision of five single-supplemental diets were evaluated. We aimed to improve the usability of bee cages by elucidating the food consumption of bees and the relationship between nutritional gene expression and the ingestion of each single-protein diet.

Banana liqueur made with yacon syrup: evaluation of stability during maturation

Abstract The aim of this work was to evaluate the stability during maturation of banana liqueurs made with yacon syrup and sucrose. Thus, 20 °GL and 30 °Brix liqueurs were produced using yacon and sucrose syrups at concentrations of 42.8 and 45.0 °Brix. The liqueurs were subjected to two procedures as following: heat treatment at 70 °C for 20 min (tranchage), followed by storage at room temperature for 10 days (T42-T and T45-T); no heat treatment and storage at 50 °C for 10 days (T42-50 and T45-50). The color and turbidity of liqueurs were evaluated daily within 10 days of storage. The alcohol content was evaluated every 2 days. The total color difference (ΔE) was calculated in relation to color at time zero for each treatment. The T42-50 treatment had the lowest turbidity at the end of maturation. The T45-T treatment presented the lowest ΔE value at the end of maturation. The alcohol contents regarding the liqueurs were the same as those contents after elaboration as well as did not change over the maturation time for all treatments.

Effects of a polyherbal formulation on the quality of life and survival of patients with common upper gastrointestinal cancers: A randomized placebo-controlled trial.

Objective:Previous clinical trials have suggested that herbal medicines can improve the quality of life (QOL) and survival of cancer patients. This study was aimed to evaluate the effects of a polyherbal compound (PHC, formulated as syrup) consisting of Allium sativum, Curcuma longa, Panax ginseng, and Camellia sinensis on the quality of life (QOL) and survival in patients with upper gastrointestinal cancers.Materials and Methods:A randomized placebo-controlled trial was carried out on patients with esophageal or gastric cancer who had finished their oncological treatments. The patients were randomly assigned to PHC (n=20) or placebo (n=20) group. The PHC group was treated with the PHC for 12 weeks, while the placebo group received 70% sucrose syrup. The QOL was assessed at baseline and after 12 weeks. The patients were followed for up to 24 months to determine overall survival. Results:PHC significantly improved cancer-related symptoms, physical performance, and psychological and social functions of the patients (p<0.05 for all cases). Death occurred in 33 and 22% of cases in the placebo and PHC group, respectively. The mean survival time was 16.8 months (95% CI: 12.8-20.9) in the placebo group and 21.4 months (95% CI: 19.1-23.6) in the PHC group but the difference was not statistically significant.Conclusion:The PHC improved cancer-related symptoms, physical performance, and psychological and social functions in patients with gastrointestinal cancers. It seems that this herbal compound has the potential to be used as a supplement in the management of cancer.

Study of Osmotic Dehydration as a Pretreatment for the Conservation of araçá-boi (Eugenia stipitata Mc Vaugh-Myrtaceae), a Regional Amazonian Fruit

This work aimed to study the use of osmotic dehydration and drying as a conservation technique for araca-boi, a regional fruit from the Amazon. In dehydration, solutions of sucrose and glucose syrup were used. The experimental design was based on the factorial planning 2 2 , varying the time (6, 12, and 18 h) and concentration of the solution (50, 60, and 70%). The samples obtained in the best dehydration conditions were subjected to physicochemical analyses of ashes, pH, acidity, and vitamin C. The drying kinetics in the air circulation oven at 60°C was performed to check the interference of the osmotic treatment, in time and loss of moisture. The experimental planning indicated that the highest levels of concentration and time (70% and 18 h), provided a reduction in the moisture of less than 60% of the samples of araca-boi. Physicochemical analyses indicated that osmotic dehydration caused an increase in pH, reduced acidity, and vitamin C content for both samples dehydrated with sucrose and glucose. The equilibrium moisture in the drying kinetics was obtained around 500 min for the dehydrated samples and 400 min for the fresh sample. The Page and Midilli and Kucuk models describe the drying kinetics behavior of osmotically dehydrated and fresh samples of araca-boi, respectively.

Insight into probiotic properties of lactic acid bacterial endosymbionts of Apis mellifera L. derived from the Polish apiary.

Taking into account that fructophilic lactic acid bacteria (FLAB) can play an important role in the health of honey bees and can be used as probiotics, phenotypic properties of probiotic interest of Lactobacillus kunkeei (12 strains) and Fructobacillus fructossus bacteria (2 strains), isolated from Apis mellifera gastrointestinal tract, have been studied. We have evaluated survival of tested FLAB in honey bee gut, their susceptibility to antibiotics (ampicillin, erythromycin, tylosin), cell surface hydrophobicity, auto-aggregation ability, co-aggregation with model pathogenic bacteria, biofilm formation capacity, and effect of studied FLAB, added to sucrose syrup bee diet, on longevity of honey bees. The tested FLAB exhibited good gastrointestinal tract tolerance and high antibiotic susceptibility, which are important criteria in the screening of probiotic candidates. It was also found that all FLAB studied have high cell surface hydrophobicity and fulfil next selection criterion for their use as probiotics. Symbionts of A. mellifera showed also auto- and co-aggregation capacities regarded as valuable features for biofilm formation and inhibition of pathogens adhesion to the bee gut cells. Biofilm-development ability is a desired characteristic of probiotic lactic acid bacteria. As indicated by quantitative crystal violet-stained microplate assay and confocal laser scanning microscopy imaging, all studied A. mellifera gut isolates exhibit a biofilm positive phenotype. Moreover, it was also documented, on honey bees kept in cages, that supplementation of A. mellifera sucrose diet with FLAB decreases mortality and improves significantly longevity of honey bees. Presented research showed that A. mellifera FLAB symbionts are good candidates for application as probiotics.

Innovative technology of processing berries by osmotic dehydration

The present study is devoted to the influence of osmotic agent type and of its concentration on processing fresh berries with subsequent freezing. Freezing berries without preliminary protection destroys their texture, and during defreezing berries lose their consumer properties and vitamin content. The study describes the physical and chemical processes of osmotic dehydration: crystallization temperature; sucrose syrup concentration; changing the mass; frozen moisture amount; water activity; change of the mass fraction of mono-, disaccharides and vitamin C in the berries. As a result, crystallization temperature of dehydrated berries was calculated: from -1.1°C to -2.6°C (60°Brix) and from -1.7°C to -4.8°C (70°Brix). Frozen moisture amount was estimated at 83.2%-92.8% (60°Brix) and 52.2%-87.95% (70°Brix), water activity was 0.9756-0.9891 (60°Brix) and 0.9551-0.9838 (70°Brix). The obtained data allowed determining that the amount of monosaccharides in frozen berries which were preliminarily osmo-dehydrated with 70°Brix sucrose solution rose up to 20%, and the amount of vitamin C to 14.8% (compared with freshly frozen berries). Osmotic dehydration with sucrose solution of specified concentration protects the smooth texture of berries and preserves their organoleptic properties and valuable nutritional composition.

Influence of natural colour blends of freeze-dried Gac aril and pulp on the quality of whey protein-mixed gelatin-based chewables

Gelatin gummy jelly is a chewable snack with attractive synthetic colour and flavour. The use of natural carotenoid colourant, found in Gac aril or pulp, potentially benefits consumer health. The objectives of this study were to formulate gummy prototypes designed with varying levels of gelatin, sucrose, and glucose syrup, to vary the addition of whey protein concentrate (WPC) and freeze-dried (FD) Gac aril and pulp to the selected prototype, and to investigate changes in coloured WPC-mixed gelatin gummy during storage. The prototype containing gelatin, sucrose, and glucose syrup at 10, 50, and 40%, respectively, was selected based on its hardness, gumminess, and chewiness values. The addition of WPC (0.75%) to the selected prototype increased the values of hardness, springiness, and gumminess but reduced the values of cohesiveness and chewiness. Coloured WPC-mixed gelatin gummy with blends (0.5 g/100 g) of FD Gac aril and pulp at a ratio of 75:25 appeared yellow-orange and received the highest acceptance score. The quality of coloured WPC-mixed gelatin changed to a dull colour and a softer texture gel during storage. Therefore, Gac-coloured WPC-mixed gelatin gummy improvement for colour and texture qualities should be of concern for shelf-life stability.

Modification of the carbohydrate component of ice cream and frozen desserts using glucose-galactose syrup

Functional and technological properties of glucose-galactose syrup as a substitute for sucrose in the technology of functional ice cream and milk desserts are studied. A comparative analysis of the effect of sucrose, fructose, galactose, and glucose-galactose syrup on formation of the sensory profile of sweeteners is performed. Patterns of the impact of concentration and temperature on the degree of sweetness of glucose and galactose syrup are revealed. The optimal ratio of glucose-galactose syrup and sucrose (50/50) in ice cream and frozen milk desserts is determined.

THE EFFECTS OF SUPPLEMENTAL FEEDING WITH SODIUM HUMATE ON THE PERFORMANCE OF HONEY BEE COLONIES (Apis Mellifera L.)

In plant and animal production, sodium or potassium compounds which are soluble forms of humic substances are used. Sodium humates are used because of the sodium content which is important for animals in animal production. This study was carried out to investigate the effects of sodium humate added to sugar syrup in the development of adult honey bees, brood production and honey yield. Experimental colonies were randomly selected, and 5 study groups were formed with 6 colonies in each group. In the study, 4 different doses of sodium humate (5 cc, 10 cc, 20 cc, 50 cc/L and control 0 cc/L) were added to 1 liter 1:1 ratio of sucrose syrup and given to the experimental colonies. The highest brood production was obtained at a dose of 10 cc. In addition to, high dose (50 cc) negatively affected brood production. The average honey yield for the 5 cc, 10 cc, 20 cc, 50 cc and control groups was determined as 19.15±1.48, 26.35±1,83, 22.50±1.86, 8.75±1.29 and, 18.50±1.57 kg/colony, respectively. The highest honey yield was obtained from the group of 10 cc. For this group, the honey yield was 29.79 % higher than the control group.

Nosema ceranae causes cellular immunosuppression and interacts with thiamethoxam to increase mortality in the stingless bee Melipona colimana

The microsporidian parasite Nosema ceranae and neonicotinoid insecticides affect the health of honey bees (Apis mellifera). However, there is limited information about the effect of these stressors on other pollinators such as stingless bees (Hymenoptera: Meliponini). We examined the separate and combined effects of N. ceranae and the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam at field-exposure levels on the survivorship and cellular immunity (hemocyte concentration) of the stingless bee Melipona colimana. Newly-emerged bees were subjected to four treatments provided in sucrose syrup: N. ceranae spores, thiamethoxam, thiamethoxam and N. ceranae, and control (bees receiving only syrup). N. ceranae developed infections of > 467,000 spores/bee in the group treated with spores only. However, in the bees subjected to both stressors, infections were < 143,000 spores/bee, likely due to an inhibitory effect of thiamethoxam on the microsporidium. N. ceranae infections did not affect bee survivorship, but thiamethoxam plus N. ceranae significantly increased mortality. Hemocyte counts were significantly lower in N. ceranae infected-bees than in the other treatments. These results suggest that N. ceranae may infect, proliferate and cause cellular immunosuppression in stingless bees, that exposure to sublethal thiamethoxam concentrations is toxic to M. colimana when infected with N. ceranae, and that thiamethoxam restrains N. ceranae proliferation. These findings have implications on pollinators’ conservation.

Sugar content of diet does not buffer against chronic oral imidacloprid exposure in the alfalfa leafcutting bee (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae).

Bees are economically critical pollinators, but are declining broadly due to several stressors, including nontarget exposure to insecticides and deficiencies in nutrition. Understanding the simultaneous impact of stressors, particularly interactions between them, is critical to effectively conserving bees. Although behavioral effects of pesticides like neonicotinoids have received some attention in solitary bees, our understanding of how they are modulated by diet quality is limited. Furthermore, scarce data exist on what concentrations of orally ingested neonicotinoids elicit mortality in solitary bees. In a controlled exposure laboratory experiment, we investigated how diet quality, as sugar concentration, and chronic oral exposure to imidacloprid affect adult alfalfa leafcutting bees, Megachile rotundata (Fabricius). We provided individuals ad libitum with either 20 or 50% (m/m) sucrose syrups containing either 0, 30, or 300 ppb imidacloprid (measuring 0, 27, and 209 ppb via an ELISA assay). Over 5 wk, we tracked behavior and survivorship of individuals. Imidacloprid decreased survivorship in a dose-dependent fashion, but sucrose content did not affect survivorship, even in bees not fed imidacloprid. In the high imidacloprid treatment, 45% of bees were observed in a motionless supine position while still alive, with this effect appearing to be buffered against by the higher sucrose diet. Our results suggest that diets higher in sugar concentration may prevent an intermediate stage of poisoning, but do not ultimately extend longevity. In devising risk assessments for bees, it is important to consider that interactions between stressors may occur in the stages leading up to death even if survivorship is unaffected.

Impact of Protoporphyrin Lysine Derivatives on the Ability of Nosema ceranae Spores to Infect Honeybees.

Simple SummaryHoneybees, which are important for the development and maintenance of natural ecosystems, are infected by microsporidia, Nosema apis and N. ceranae. These parasites induce a disease named nosemosis contributing to the impairment of digestion and nutrient absorption, ultimately leading to total colony collapse. The need for research into the control of N. ceranae has become increasingly important. Promising compounds for the treatment of nosemosis are porphyrins. In the present study, we examined the effects of three different porphyrins on the infectivity of N. ceranae microsporidia. A significantly lower level of infection was observed in the bees infected with the porphyrin-treated spores than in the control bees (infected with untreated spores). We showed that protoporphyrin lysine derivatives in particular prevented the development of Nosema spores and simultaneously extended bee life spans (up to 50%). The results also indicate that these porphyrins may contribute to the reduction in digestive nutrient absorption disorders in bees. The present findings can be used to develop a new class of drugs for combating nosemosis. These compounds may serve as preventive or disinfection agents through direct inactivation of Nosema both in the midgut and outside the host body, i.e., in the hive.The effect of two protoporphyrin IX derivatives conjugated with single (PP[Lys(TFA)-OH)]2) or double (PP[Lys(TFA)-Lys(TFA)-OH]2) lysine moieties on the infectious capacity of Nosema ceranae spores was examined, and their efficacies were compared with those of a cationic porphyrin (H2TTMePP). Honeybees were inoculated with spores preincubated with porphyrins or with untreated spores (control). A significantly lower level of infection was observed in the bees infected with the porphyrin-treated spores than in the infected control. Porphyrins 1 and 2 reduced the infectious capability of microsporidia more efficiently than porphyrin 3, with bee mortality declining to almost 50%. Confocal analysis of the midguts of infected bees revealed distinct differences in the number of spores between the control group and the group infected with PP[Lys(TFA)-Lys(TFA)-OH]2-treated spores. Notably, bees with a reduced level of infection consumed less sucrose syrup than the control bees, indicating a reduction in digestive disorders and an improvement in food absorption.

Manuka honey adulteration detection based on near-infrared spectroscopy combined with aquaphotomics

The syrup-blended adulteration of Manuka honey was detected using near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy combined with aquaphotomics. Manuka honey was adulterated with five different syrups (corn syrup, sucrose syrup, high fructose corn syrup, beet syrup, and rice syrup) in degrees from 10% to 50% for NIR spectra collection. Spectral variance analysis, PCA analysis, and partial least square regression (PLSR) model regression vector analysis were then performed for the spectral region of 1300–1800 nm. Finally, 12 characteristic bands were selected according to the results of analysis, and the aquagrams constructed on the basis of these wavelengths were used for aquaphotomic evaluation. The evaluation results showed that Manuka honey dominated at long-wavelength regions, indicating that more water molecules with strong hydrogen bonds and more structured water molecules are present in Manuka honey compared with sugar syrups. On the other hand, sugar syrups dominated at short-wavelength regions, indicating that sugar syrups mainly contain unstructured free water molecules with few or no hydrogen bonds. Furthermore, as the degree of adulteration increased, the number of structured water molecules, which facilitate molecular interactions, in Manuka honey decreased. The experimental results demonstrated that the detection of syrup-adulterated Manuka honey using NIR spectroscopy combined with aquaphotomics is practical.

The effects of field-realistic doses of imidacloprid on Melipona quadrifasciata (Apidae: Meliponini) workers.

The presence of Brazilian native bees can improve tomato production by increasing pollination effectiveness. However, the extensive use of pesticides in tomato cultures may be harmful to bees. Imidacloprid-based insecticides are used in tomato plantations because of its high efficiency against tomato pests. This study investigated the effects of oral intake of field-realistic concentrations of imidacloprid by M. quadrifasciata workers, a stingless native bee from Brazil and effective pollinators of tomato crops. The oral intake of sucrose syrup added with 10, 35, or 70ppb of imidacloprid did not increase the mortality rate when compared with the control group. However, we observed a reduction in the workers' motility and food consumption. We also treated M. quadrifasciata workers with sucrose syrup mixed with an imidacloprid-based insecticide (Evidence 700 WG®, Bayer), with the final concentration of 250ppb of imidacloprid. This treatment did not cause visible alterations of the intestine absorptive cells of the bees' midgut and did not increase DNA damage. Therefore, the observed reduction of food consumption and locomotion behavior of M. quadrifasciata workers may contribute to the global effort to understand the contribution of neonicotinoids on bees' population decline process.