The bioactive contents and antioxidant activity of honey bee nest extract of Apis dorsata Binghami from the North Sulawesi

Apis dorsata  Binghami is a Sulawesi endemic honey bee.  Apis dorsata  Binghami cannot be bred, so it still lives wild ly in the forests of Sulawesi. However,  Apis dorsata  Binghami produces more honey, compared to all honey bee species. Furthermore, the diversity of plants as a source of nectar, pollen and plant resin, which is used in the formation of nests and honey is more, than all types of honey bees in the world.  Ethnomedically, the Minahasa community has long used honeynest for degenerative diseases such as hyperlipidemia and cancer. Nevertheless, there have been no research reports on bioactive content and bioactivity of  Apis dorsata Binghami nest extract.  This r esearch  was aimed to determine the bioactive content of honey bee nest and  to  obtain the inhibit o ry concentration 50 (IC 50 ) antioxidant activity of honey bee nest extract of Apis dorsata  Binghami. Honey bee nest was obtained directly from the forest of Minahasa peninsula ,  North Sulawesi, Indonesia.  E xtraction  of f resh honey bee nest  was conducted using maceration method. Bioactive content analysis was carried out by the Harborne method, followed by analysis using UV Vis spectrophotometer and High performance liquid chromatography. IC 50 antioxidant activity of honey bee nest extract was obtained using DPPH free radical reduction method. The results showed that  Apis dorsata  Binghami honey bee nest extract contain ed alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, tannins, steroids and triterpenoids. Identified flavonoids  displayed  the highest phytochemical content. Based on the results of HPLC and UV Vis spectrophotometer analysis, there were 20 flavonoid derivatives found in honey bee nest samples in Minahasa. Ethanol extract and n-hexane extract showed high free radical reduction activity compared to vitamin C as a control treatment. However, ethanol extract  produced  the highest DPPH free radical reduction activity.