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Antibacterial Activity of Ethanolic Extracts of Pot-Pollen Produced by Eight Meliponine Species from Venezuela

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Pot-Pollen in Stingless Bee Melittology

Abstract

Fresh Venezuelan pot-pollen from Apure, Amazonas, Bolívar, and Mérida produced by eight meliponine species of Frieseomelitta, Melipona, and Tetragonisca was characterized. The antibacterial activity of pot-pollen ethanolic extracts was measured in Gram positive (Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram negative bacteria (Enterobacter cloacae, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa), using agar well diffusion and minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) methods. In both methods, all pot-pollen ethanolic extracts were active against at least four of the bacterial strains tested, showing an antibacterial activity related to stingless bee species. Melipona favosa, Melipona lateralis kangarumensis, Melipona paraensis, and Tetragonisca angustula pot-pollen ethanolic extracts had the widest inhibition halos and the lowest MIC values (between 2.5% and 5.0%), indicating the highest antibacterial activities. Differences in antibacterial activities of pot-pollen produced by the eight species of stingless bees were possibly due to difference in botanical and geographical origin. Escherichia coli was the bacterium more resistant to pot-pollen extracts – ten samples of Melipona eburnea, Melipona paraensis, and Tetragonisca angustula. The antibacterial activity of ethanolic extracts of pot-pollen produced by eight stingless bee species of several regions of Venezuela increases the added value of these products for nutritional and functional uses.

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Acknowledgments

To the memory of Professor João MF Camargo, Biology Departement, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, for the identification of the Venezuelan stingless bees. To stingless bee keepers from southern Venezuela to provide their pot-pollen. To project FA-127-93B from Council for the Scientific, Humanistic and Technological Development at Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela, for supporting field work needed to collect the pot-pollen in Venezuela. To the support of ZG-AVA-FA-01-98-01 from the Council of Development of Scientific, Humanistic, Technological and Artistic, at Universidad de Los Andes, to the Group Apitherapy and Bioactivity. To referees for their timely comments. To Dr. D.W. Roubik for the careful English proofreading.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Biotechnological and Molecular Analysis, Faculty of Pharmacy and Bioanalysis, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, 5101, Venezuela

    Miguel Sulbarán-Mora & Elizabeth Pérez-Pérez

  2. Apitherapy and Bioactivity, Food Science Department, Faculty of Pharmacy and Bioanalysis, Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida, 5101, Venezuela

    Patricia Vit

  3. Cancer Research Group, Discipline of Biomedical Science, Cumberland Campus C42, The University of Sydney, 75 East Street, Lidcombe, NSW, 1825, Australia

    Patricia Vit

Authors
  1. Miguel Sulbarán-Mora
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  2. Elizabeth Pérez-Pérez
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  3. Patricia Vit
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Correspondence to Patricia Vit .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Food Science Department, Faculty of Pharmacy and Bioanalysis, Universidad de Los Andes, Merida, Venezuela

    Patricia Vit

  2. Biology Department, School of Philosophy, Sciences and Literature, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirao Preto, Brazil

    Silvia R.M. Pedro

  3. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panama

    David W. Roubik

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Sulbarán-Mora, M., Pérez-Pérez, E., Vit, P. (2018). Antibacterial Activity of Ethanolic Extracts of Pot-Pollen Produced by Eight Meliponine Species from Venezuela. In: Vit, P., Pedro, S., Roubik, D. (eds) Pot-Pollen in Stingless Bee Melittology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61839-5_28

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