Total Phenolic Contents and Colour Intensity of Malaysian Honeys from the Apis spp. and Trigona spp. Bees

The total phenolic content and colour intensity of the five common Malaysian honeys by the Apis spp. or Trigona spp. were studied following a modified Folin-Ciocalteu method and absorbance measurements, respectively. The total phenolic content and the colour intensity of honeys from the two types of bees were statistically different with P < 0.0005. The Trigona spp. honey gave higher total phenolic content with average 784.3 mg GAE/kg than the Apis spp. honey at average 590.5 mg GAE/kg. The total phenolic content of Malaysian honeys has good correlation with its colour intensity at R2 = 0.826.