Phytochemical composition and antimicrobial properties of stingless bee products from the East African Region

Résumé

Stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini) are widely distributed across tropical and subtropical regions, including East Africa, where they produce honey, propolis, and pollen that have long been valued for their medicinal and nutritional properties. Specifically, the honey is recognized for its antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory effects due to its rich content of bioactive compounds such as flavonoids, phenolics, and terpenoids. In East African countries, there has been an increasing interest in the antimicrobial properties and phytochemical composition of stingless bee products to validate their traditional uses and explore their therapeutic potential. This narrative review highlights the findings of these studies, which have mainly focused on the honey of Meliponula, Plebeina, Hypotrigona, and Dactylurina species. The honey of these species has particularly been reported to be active against several common bacterial pathogens, including Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Haemophilus influenzae, Bacillus subtilis, Enterococcus faecalis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Listeria monocytogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Salmonella typhi. Moreover, reports also indicate that honey and propolis of some East African stingless bees are active against Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger. Reports on phytochemical analyses indicate that depending on the region, stingless bee honey from the East African region contains diverse phytochemical contents, including flavonoids, phenols, tannins, saponins, alkaloids, glycosides, steroids, and triterpenoids. These findings suggest that stingless bee honey possesses significant potential as a natural source of antimicrobial agents and functional food. However, variations in phytochemical composition influenced by species diversity and environmental conditions indicate the need for further research. Future studies should prioritize standardization, detailed phytochemical profiling, and clinical validation, alongside sustainable meliponiculture development. Unlike the honey, however, there are limited studies on the other nest products (pollen, cerumen, and propolis). This calls for more research, particularly on propolis and pollen, which are known to have antimicrobial properties.  There is also a need for isolation of pure antimicrobial compounds from the nest’s products and subsequent mechanistic studies.  Future studies should also expand the antimicrobial studies to include viruses, fungi, and protozoans.