Insularity and its impact on stingless bee honey properties: A case study in the Zanzibar Archipelago (Tanzania)

Background

Islands are known to host unique flowering plant assemblages visited by insular insects, including by social bees, a phenomenon thought to potentially impact the honey composition and associated medicinal applications. In this study, we characterized several physical–chemical parameters of honey produced by the stingless bee Meliponula (Axestotrigona) ferruginea with samples collected both from continental (Kenya) and insular (Tanzania) ecosystems.

Results

Our results show that stingless bees in islands produce a honey whose composition significantly differs from those produced in the continent, with a significantly higher concentration of bioactive phytochemicals.

Conclusion

Our results illustrate how insularity might drive different and unique compositional profiles in honeys and provide evidence that certain groups of compounds found in stingless bee honey from the Afrotropical region have potential therapeutic benefits with medicinal applications that largely remain to be explored.