Antimicrobial activity of honey produced by native stingless bee Melipona Beecheii

Since pre-Hispanic times, honey from Melipona beecheii has been considered as a food with great health benefits. Mayan civilization had the tradition of producing this kind of honey, which has several attributes including biological activities. This natural product is employed in the treatment of digestive disorders, skin ulcers, wound healing, burns, cataracts and microbial infections. However, there are few reports that provide scientific evidence of the biological properties of honey produced by M. beecheii. Some reports indicate that antimicrobial properties of stingless bee honey could be used in the treatment of strains of clinic interest, such as S. aureus, E. coli and E. faecalis. Unlike regular drugs and other antimicrobial compounds normally used today, Melipona honey has proven to be a broad-spectrum antimicrobial compound, inhibiting growth of gram negative as well as gram positive bacteria. On the other hand it has been observed that Melipona honey also has antifungal effects against opportunistic species like C. albicans. Taking into account the long-term properties and low concentration requirements from this food to inhibit a wide number of microorganisms, Melipona honey could be considered as an alternative in the treatment of microbial infections.