Honey and bee pollen produced by Meliponini (Apidae) in Alagoas, Brazil: multivariate analysis of physicochemical and antioxidant profiles

Abstract This study evidenced the physicochemical composition and antioxidant activity (AA) of honeys (n = 31) and pollen (n = 25) of stingless bees species from Alagoas, Brazil. Fifteen parameters were studied under the light of a multivariate analysis. A dendrogram with three groups of honeys was stablished for the different bees, being the group III formed exclusively by samples from genus Melipona. Plebeia sp. and Tetragona clavipes Fabricius (1804) produced honeys with higher pH/acidity, electrical conductivity, phenolic total and AA. Even different bees from the same meliponary, as M. a...