Pharmacognosy of Stingless Bee Honey; Creams and Hydrogels

Stingless bee honey are used as additives of several cosmetics, due to their bioactive properties and as an alternative for some infections.Therefore, this study aimed to characterize the addition of stingless bee honey from Soconusco, Chiapas, Mexico in a) creams added with Melipona beecheii and Scaptotrigona mexicana honey against Staphylococcus aureus, Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans, and b) hydrogels based on M. beecheii honey against S. aureus.Creams were stored at temperatures of: 10, 20 and 30C to be analyzed during days 0, 30 and 60, and were characterized by their viscosity, pH, stability by centrifugation, melting point, colorimetry on the CIE-Lab scale and antimicrobial activity.The stingless bee honey-based hydrogels were prepared by a modified cold mechanical method at concentrations of 2.5% and 4.0%, and were characterized physically (color, homogeneity, consistency and presence of lumps), pH, viscosity, spreadability, stability studies and antimicrobial activity against S. aureus.Stingless bee honey creams remained stable for 60 days and at the three study temperatures, besides the viscosity and pH improved over time, and they registered a bacteriostatic effect at 48 h against microorganisms evaluated.Likewise, they met the requirements of NOM-259-SSA1-2022, making them an innovative alternative to be used as cosmetic products to improve skin conditions.On the other hand, hydrogels made with 2.5 and 4% M. beecheii honey were stable with respect to the variables evaluated, such as pH, viscosity, spreadability and stability, which maintained their structure and functionality, and they also registered a bacteriostatic effect to inhibit S. aureus.These results are the first step to contribute to the pharmacognosy of stingless bee honey from Soconusco, Chiapas and in the future be considered as an alternative as natural healing products.