Some Physiochemical and Antimicrobial Characteristics of Honeybee from Colonies Fed with Sugar Syrup and Inverted Sugar

The present study was performed to determine the impact of feeding honeybee colonies with sugar syrup and inverted sugar on pollen, physiochemical and antimicrobial properties. Raw honeys and bee-processed syrups (sucrose solution or inverted sugar syrup) samples were collected from bee colonies under field conditions in different regions of Egypt. Biological activities were compared between colonies which fed with sugar syrup and inverted sugar. The results obtained clearly showed that the chemical analysis of tested samples indicated that concentration of monosaccharide (fructose and glucose) was the highest in samples from natural honey. In contrast, disaccharide (sucrose) concentration was lowest compared to the samples collected from colonies fed with inverted sugar and sugar syrup. The antibacterial activity of natural honey from the Assiut region was highest against Staphylococcus aureus compared to honey obtained from bee colonies fed on sucrose solution and inverted sugar syrup. Only honey samples of colonies which feed with inverted sugar (Qualiubia region), sugar syrup (Arish region) at 100% concentration caused antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus. However, the effect against Pseudomonas aeruginosa was observed only with honey sample (100%) harvested from colonies fed with sugar syrup at Arish region. A wide range with highest value of H₂O₂ (201.30 and 139.72 mg/kg) was observed in natural honey samples and honey obtained from colonies fed on inverted sugar from Arish region. The water contents of honey collected from colonies fed with sugar syrup in Qualiubia and Arish regions, or fed on inverted sugar in Arish reached the highest value. The results obtained also showed that the pollen grains content, H₂O₂ and antimicrobial activity were reduced in the harvested honey samples of honeybee colonies fed with inverted sugar and sugar syrup in most regions. In contrast, these diets increased the water content and improved biological activity in colonies fed with inverted sugar, compared to that fed on sugar syrup. Keywords: Honeybee inverted sugar, sugar syrup, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus.