Dehydration Treatment Effect on the Physicochemical Properties and Microbial Population of Stingless Bee Honey From Three Different Species

Honey is a natural product produced from the nectar of a variety of plants by stingless bees. Honey has been utilized for nutritional food for ages, and in recent years, stingless bee honey has been exploited as a food supplement for excellent health, cosmetic maintenance, and culinary enjoyment. Stingless bee honey has a higher moisture content (30-40%) and acidity than honeybee honey due to the presence of organic acid, mineral, and other trace components. Honey's moisture content is a key aspect that affects its stability and shelf life. The current study aimed to accesses the quality of dehydrated stingless bee honey from three different species namely, Heterotrigona itama, Geniotrigona thoracica, and Tetrigona apicalis. The dehydration treatment of T1 (20% moisture content at 60oC in 6 hours) and T2 (15% moisture content at 60oC in 8 hours) honey samples were subjected to physicochemical properties and microbial population studies.