Student ID : 10767119

Maria Angelina Sitorus1 Parawee Srisai2

1
Department of Biotechnology, National Formosa University, Yunlin, Taiwan
Keyword : Honey bee, Apis dorsata, anti-oxidant activity, anti-bacterial activity,
Introduction
Honey is the naturally sweet substance in the form of liquid produced by the
honey bee Apis dorsata from the nectar of blossoms and plants giving nectar honeys,
respectively in which fructose and glucose are the main contributors. Honey has
highly variable sensorial and physicochemical characteristics due to climatic and
environmental conditions and the diverse origins of the plants or depending on their
floral source (Cimpoiu, Hosu, Miclaus, & Puscas, 2012). Indonesia is a tropical
country rich with flora and fauna, harbors many different types of honey and the
properties of the honeys produced by these bees have not been explored (LA
Garibaldi, I Steffan‐Dewenter, C Kremen, 2011)
Honey is a lot of substances, especially carbohydrates and water, minerals,
proteins, free amino acids, enzymes, vitamins, organic acids, flavonoids, phenolic
acids, and other phytochemicals (Terrab, Gonzalez, Diez, & Heredia, 2003). Honey
is useful for the treatment of heart disease, cancer, cataracts, and some inflammatory
diseases because can act as antioxidants and antimicrobials properties, as well as
wound healing and anti-inflammatory activity (Martos et al., 2000).
Anti-oxidant activity can reduce oxidation reactions in the food system and
human health. Honey contains a lot of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants,
including glucose oxidase, catalase, Ascorbic acid, a carotenoid derivative, organic
acid, Maillard reaction products, amino acids, and proteins (Dimitrova, Gevrenova,
& Anklam, 2007). The antibacterial properties of honey have been well known in
folk medicine for many years. These healing powers are directly due to the honey's
chemical composition, including the presence of hydrogen peroxide, as well as other
non-peroxide factors. There are many nonperoxide constituents that form part of the
antibacterial activity of honey and these include phenolic compounds, flavonoids
and a number of other components Zainol et al. (2013), and Weston et al. (1999),
Besides that, honey is a long-known anti-bacterial which inhibits the growth
of 60 species of bacteria, including aerobes and anaerobes, and Grampositive and
Gram-negative bacteria (Taormina, Niemira,&Beuchat, 2001).
In this research, A. dorsata was selected for study since honey from this wild
species is the most popular in local consumption and sales. For the purposes of the
present research, the properties of honey, in terms of the anti-oxidant activity, anti-
bacterial activity, and anti-inflammatory activity of Apis dorsata honey especially in
Kalimantan.