TITLE:
Physicochemical and Nutritional Characteristics of Honey from Plebeina armata, a Stingless Bee Species That Nests Underground in the Sudanese savannah Region of Burkina Faso
AUTHORS:
Souleymane Koussoubé, Josefa Somé, Fidèle W. Tapsoba, Timothy Kegode, Farûk Koira, Issouf Ouédraogo, Gérald Nana, Frédéric Soubandé, Kiatoko Nkoba, Mamoudou Traoré, Mamounata Bélem, Souleymane Nacro
KEYWORDS:
Burkina Faso, Compounds, Honey, Melipone, Physicochemical
JOURNAL NAME:
Food and Nutrition Sciences,
Vol.17 No.10,
October
28,
2026
ABSTRACT: In Burkina Faso, honey from melipona is used for therapeutic purposes and for rituals. This honey is gradually gaining popularity among consumers because of its contrasting and attractive flavor and aroma. Several species of meliponas have been identified in Burkina Faso, including Plebeina armata. There is little data on the physicochemical composition of P. armata honey. Knowledge of the physicochemical parameters of honey could generate more enthusiasm among producers and beekeepers to practice meliponiculture. It is in this context that this study was carried out. Its objective is to evaluate the physicochemical properties of P. armata honey in three ecosystems (fields, fallow land and classified forests). P. armata honey samples were collected from these ecosystems in Burkina Faso. About twenty P. armata nests were excavated. The honey was placed in 60 ml jars, labeled and brought back to the laboratory. In the laboratory, the physicochemical composition, nutritional composition and phytochemical compound content of the honey samples were determined. The results show that the color of P. armata honeys varied from one landscape structure to another. The moisture content varied from 25.36% to 28.69%, and conductivity and pH varied from 824.5 to 985.6 μS/cm and from 3.2 to 3.7 respectively. Reducing sugar increased from 20.59% to 21.54%, and ash from 1.45% to 2.3%. The polyphenol content in P. armata honey varied from 3.39 mg GAE/100g to 5.67 mg GAE/100g. These results show that P. armata honey has very interesting physicochemical properties from a food and medicinal point of view.