Compositional Profile of Honeys from Stingless Bees and Honeybee Honey from a West African Country Using 1H NMR Spectroscopy

Abstract

Forest honey is a prime nontimber forest product (NTFP) with the potential to generate income in rural areas across the (sub-)tropics. In the Afrotropics, if beekeeping and honey production from Apis mellifera are under active development, harvesting of stingless bee honey from wild nests is still ongoing, and very little is known about its chemical properties. To fill this gap, we collected 21 samples of A. mellifera honey and 21 samples of stingless bee honey from eight localities in Burkina Faso. The chemical composition of the samples was characterized using ¹H NMR spectroscopy. Our results showed that stingless bee honey composition differed from that of A. mellifera honeys with a lower sugar content and a higher acid content due to different fermentation processes, producing a honey with a higher functional chemodiversity. The greater functional diversity in stingless bee honey may influence synergistic interactions between its compounds, thereby amplifying the beneficial properties of the honey. Our results provide a chemical characterization of Afrotropical stingless bee honey, highlighting the complexity of this natural medicine whose properties remain underinvestigated.