Bacteriological characterization of honeys collected from several apiaries in the Philippines.

Date

4-2013

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Biology

Major Course

Major in Microbiology

College

College of Arts and Sciences (CAS)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Jamora, Renard M.

Committee Member

Cruz, Wilma T. Cadiz, Nina M.

Abstract

A total of 32 honey samples collected by the UPLB Bee Program from various apiaries in the Philippines were analyzed. Eight honey samples were obtained each for Apis cerana, A. dorsata, A. mellifera and Trigona biroi colonies. The mean bacterial Aerobic Plate Count (APC) of honey samples for each bee species was then determined. Results showed that APC of honeys ranged from 10¹ to 10⁵ cfu / g with an overall average APC of approximately 3.0 x 10⁴ cfu / g. This was still within the reported range of APC for raw honeys (10⁴ - 10⁵ cfu / g) and fairly lower than the recommended reference value for ready-to-eat foods (< 10⁵ cfu / g). Statistical analyses revealed that A. cerana had a significantly different mean bacterial APC from the rest of the bee species whereas honeys from A. dorsata, A. mellifera and T. biroi had no significant variation in their average bacterial APC. Twenty-five bacterial isolates were recovered from the aerobic plate counts of the 32 honey samples analyzed. Sixteen of the isolates were spore-forming Gram-positive rods presumptively identified under the genus Bacillus. The remaining 9 isolates were vegetative bacteria wherein five were Gram-positive cocci presumptively classified as Micrococcus and Staphylococcus while four isolates were Gram-negative presumptively identified as Acinetobacter and Pseudomonas.

Language

English

Location

UPLB Main Library Special Collections Section

Call Number

Thesis

Document Type

Thesis

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