Propolis collected by stingless bees from various types of plants has been used as an antimicrobial agent in several previous studies. We assessed the effect of propolis produced by a stingless bee, Trigona apicalis, ...Propolis collected by stingless bees from various types of plants has been used as an antimicrobial agent in several previous studies. We assessed the effect of propolis produced by a stingless bee, Trigona apicalis, on Apis florea experimentally infected with Nosema ceranae, a parasite of honeybees. For parasite inoculation each Nosema free-bee was fed 2μL of 50% （w/v） sucrose solution containing N. ceranae spores at 40,000 spores/bee and 0 as a negative control （CO）. Treated bees were provided with 0%, 10%, 20% and 50% propolis （w/v） in water, defined as 0P, 10P, 20P and 50P, respectively. We assessed the effects of propolis 14 days post inoculation. All propolis-treated bees had significantly higher survival than untreated bees. However, survival of Nosema-inoculated bees was lower than that of control bees. Bees treated with the highest propolis concentration （50P） had the highest survival ratio. No control bees became infected over the course of the study. However, N. ceranae infection rates of bees treated with 0P, 10P, 20P and 50P were 75 ± 1.4%, 72 ± 5.6%, 69± 4.2% and 47± 1.4%, respectively. In addition, propolis-treated bees had hypopharyngeal gland protein content that was significantly higher than 0P and CO bees. Overall, propolis treatment significantly reduced N. ceranae infection rate and bee mortality and was associated with increased hypopharyngeal gland protein concentration.展开更多
文摘Propolis collected by stingless bees from various types of plants has been used as an antimicrobial agent in several previous studies. We assessed the effect of propolis produced by a stingless bee, Trigona apicalis, on Apis florea experimentally infected with Nosema ceranae, a parasite of honeybees. For parasite inoculation each Nosema free-bee was fed 2μL of 50% （w/v） sucrose solution containing N. ceranae spores at 40,000 spores/bee and 0 as a negative control （CO）. Treated bees were provided with 0%, 10%, 20% and 50% propolis （w/v） in water, defined as 0P, 10P, 20P and 50P, respectively. We assessed the effects of propolis 14 days post inoculation. All propolis-treated bees had significantly higher survival than untreated bees. However, survival of Nosema-inoculated bees was lower than that of control bees. Bees treated with the highest propolis concentration （50P） had the highest survival ratio. No control bees became infected over the course of the study. However, N. ceranae infection rates of bees treated with 0P, 10P, 20P and 50P were 75 ± 1.4%, 72 ± 5.6%, 69± 4.2% and 47± 1.4%, respectively. In addition, propolis-treated bees had hypopharyngeal gland protein content that was significantly higher than 0P and CO bees. Overall, propolis treatment significantly reduced N. ceranae infection rate and bee mortality and was associated with increased hypopharyngeal gland protein concentration.
