Abstract
Trehalulose, a rare disaccharide absent in Apis mellifera honey, has emerged as a distinctive biochemical marker of Indonesian stingless bee honey; however, its stability and consistency under processing and storage conditions remain underexplored. In this study, raw and dehumidified stingless bee honey (Trigona sp.) were analyzed using HPLC-RID to quantify trehalulose and evaluate quality parameters including color, acidity, and moisture after storage at − 20 °C, 4 °C, 25 °C, and 35 °C for eight weeks. Trehalulose concentrations varied geographically (0.00–40.22 g/100 g) but were generally present across most regions, confirming its diagnostic value as a qualitative authenticity marker. Dehumidification increased trehalulose levels from 40.22 to 47.56 g/100 g by reducing moisture below 20%. During storage, trehalulose decreased more rapidly in raw honey (40% to 29% at 35 °C) than in dehumidified samples (49% to 38%). Although high-temperature storage darkened honey due to Maillard reactions, dehumidification combined with cold storage most effectively preserved trehalulose, controlled acidity, and extended product stability.
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Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge Universitas Indonesia and Institut Teknologi Bandung for their support of this research. The authors also thank Dr. Nurlela from the Research Center for Pharmaceutical Ingredients and Traditional Medicine, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), for her valuable support in this study.
Funding
This research was supported by Hibah Publikasi Terindeks Internasional (PUTI) Q1 Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia with grant number is NKB-521/UN2.RST/HKP.05.00/2024, Riset Unggulan ITB 2025 and Riset Kolaborasi Indonesia 2025 No.188/IT1.B07.1/SPP-DRI/IV/2025.
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MS, CA, NB: Conceptual, laboratory analysis, formal analysis, funding acquisition, writing original manuscriptMSA: data analysisIK, MTAPK, REP, YGW, MCW, MY: writing, review and editing.
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Sahlan, M., Amelia, C., Baariq, N. et al. Trehalulose serves as a distinctive marker for Indonesian stingless bee honey under raw and dehumidified conditions. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-44148-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-44148-6
