Honey bees come from the family of Apidae and the genus Apis [1]. A. dorsata, A. mellifera, A. cerana, A. laboriosa, A. florea, A. andreniformis, A. koschevnikovi, and A. nigrocincta are eight known species that can be found around the world [2]. Honey bees are significant pollinators for cultivating crops for food production, ensuring the continuity of almost all life in this world [3]. The honey bee’s gut contains many microorganisms as its normal microbiota. Most are probiotics, made up of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and Bifidobacterium, which are widely distributed in their digestive tract system [4]. Probiotics were first described in 2013 by the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) [5] as “live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host”. The scientific definition has been extensively applied around the globe. Probiotics enhance intestinal health and increase immune reaction by producing biological antimicrobial substances that can inhibit pathogens which caused digestive system imbalances in humans and animals.
Table 1 highlights the studies that have been performed in several countries on honey bees’ guts and honey as the origin of potential probiotics. The majority of honey bee probiotics have been identified from A. mellifera spp., with a few from the A. cerana spp., and A. dorsata spp. Probiotics isolated from the honey bee gut were composed of diverse microorganisms including Bifidobacterium and lactic acid bacteria (LAB), as well as Fructophilic lactic acid bacteria (FLAB) which is a subgroup of LAB, yeasts, and other types of bacteria such as the Bacillus spp.
Probiotic | Source | Origin/Country | Reference |
---|---|---|---|
Bifidobacterium spp. | Apis cerana japonica gut | Tsukuba, Japan | [22] |
Bifidobacterium spp., Lactobacillus spp., Bacillus spp. |
Apis cerana indica gut | Samut-Songkhram, and Chumphon, Thailand | [23] |
Lactobacillus spp. | Apis cerana indica gut | Karnataka, India | [24] |
Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus pentosus, Lactobacillus fermentum |
Apis dorsata gut | Terengganu, Malaysia | [25] |
Lactobacillus kunkeei strains | Yigilca honey bee gut | Duzce, Turkey | [26] |
Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus paraplantarum, Lactobacillus plantarum strains |
Apis mellifera gut | Menoua, Cameroon | [27] [28] |
Lactobacillus plantarum strains | Apis cerana indica gut | Kerala, India | [29] |
Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) genera: Enterococcus, Lactobacillus, Micrococcus, Lactococcus, Streptococcus, Pediococcus, Leconostoc |
Apis cerana indica Fabricius, Apis mellifera Linnaeus, Apis florea Fabricius, & Apis dorsata Fabricius guts and honey |
Tamil Nadu, India | [30] |
Enterococcus faecalis strains, Lactobacillus brevis, Lactobacillus casei |
Apis mellifera gut | Cairo, Egypt | [31] |
Fructobacillus fructossus strains, Lactobacillus kunkeei strains |
Apis mellifera mellifera, Apis mellifera ligustica and hybridized bee guts, larvae and honey |
Aland Island, Finland | [32] |
Lactobacillus kunkeei strains (sixty-six strains), Lactobacillus casei (one strain), Lactobacillus spp. (five unidentified strains), Fructobacillus fructosus strains (eight strains), Enterococcus (five strains), Bifidobacterium asteroids |
Apis mellifera gut | The Caucasus Mountains, and Kolkheti Valley, Georgia | [33] |
Lactobacillus kunkeei strains, Lactobacillus fructosus strains |
Apis mellifera gut | Lublin, Poland | [34] |
Lactobacillus kunkeei strains, Fructobacillus fructossus strains |
Apis mellifera Linnaeus gut | Pulawy, Poland | [35] |
Fructobacillus fructossus, Proteus mirabilis, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus licheniformis, Lactobacillus kunkeei, Enterobacter kobei, Morganella morganii |
Apis mellifera jemenitica gut | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | [36] |
Apilactobacillus kunkeei strains | Apis mellifera Linnaeus gut | N/A | [37] |
Bacillus spp. | Apis cerana japonica gut | Tsukuba, Japan | [38] |
Bacillus subtilis strains | Honey bee gut and honey | N/A | [39] |
Bacillus licheniformis, Paenibacillus polymyxa (Bacillus polymyxa), Wickerhamomyces anomalus, Lachancea thermotolerans, Zygosaccharomyces mellis, |
Apis mellifera carnica gut Apis mellifera ligustica gut |
Giza, Egypt | [40] |
Lactobacillus kunkeei strains, Lactobacillus spp. |
Honey (Apis dorsata) |
Kedah, Malaysia | [41] |
Leuconostoc mesenteroides strains | Honey (Apis mellifera) |
Algeria | [42] |
Lactic Acid Bacteria (Species and subspecies not mentioned) |
Honey (Apis mellifera) |
Indonesia | [43] |
Bacillus spp. | Commercial honey (Libya, Saudi Arabia and Egypt) |
N/A | [44] |
Bacillus subtilis, Brevibacillus brevis, Bacillus megaterium strains, Lactobacillus acidophilus |
Local honey | Iran | [45] |
Bacillus subtilis strains Bacillus endophyticus |
Mountain honey Persimmon honey (commercial) |
Nigeria Egypt |
[46] |
Bacillus spp. | Honey | China | [47] |
Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus mycoides, Bacillus thuringiensis, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, Bacillus velezensis |
Raw honey (Polyfloral) |
Romania | [48] |
Gluconobacter oxydans | Honey (Apis cerana indica) |
Tamil Nadu, India | [49] |
Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains, Meyerozyma guilliermondiii |
Raw honey (Apis dorsata fabricius) |
Ratchaburi, Thailand | [50] |
Earlier research indicated that the prebiotic properties of honey are mainly due to the oligosaccharides and low molecular weight polysaccharides attached by the β-glycosidic linkages [20]. Prebiotics are hydrolyzed by the native intestinal microflora as human digestive enzymes do not possess β-glycosidases. Inulin, fructose-oligosaccharides (FOS), pyrodextrins, lactulose, and xylooligosaccharide are among the well-known prebiotics [54]. Several investigations into the possible prebiotic characteristics of honey have been undertaken in various regions of the world. Table 2 summarizes the different types of honey as a source of prebiotics and their effects on probiotics commonly found in the human intestinal system.
Probiotic | Sources of Prebiotic | Country | Key Findings | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|
Lactobacillusacidophilus strains | Honey | India |
|
[55] |
Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium bifidum |
Sesame honey (Sesamum indicum) | India |
|
[56] |
Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus rhamnosus |
Chestnut honey | Turkey |
|
[57] |
Lactobacillus plantarum strain | Wild honey (Polyfloral) | Cameroon |
|
[58] |
Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus gasseri, Lacticaseibacillus casei, Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum |
Fir, strawberry tree, ivy, tree of heaven, sulla, cardoon, rhododendron honey (Commercial, organic, monofloral honey) |
Italy |
|
[59] |
Bifidobacterium longum strains, Bifidobacterium breve, Bifidobacterium bifidum |
Agmark grade honey | India |
|
[60] |
Bifidobacterium bifidum and Lactobacilli | Clover honey (Unprocessed and sterilised) |
Egypt |
|
[61] |
Bifidobacteria | Buckwheat honey | China |
|
[62] |
N/A | Manuka honey (MGO™) | Ireland |
|
[63] |
Microbiota of the mice gut | Jarrah honey | China |
|
[64] |
N/A | Giant Willow Aphid honeydew honey (Tuberolachnus salignus) |
New Zealand |
|
[65] |
Limosilactobacillus reuteri | Manuka honey (Drapac DrKiwi AMF5, AMF10, AMF15 and AMF20) |
New Zealand |
|
[66] |
This entry is adapted from the peer-reviewed paper 10.3390/foods11142102