Isolation and Molecular Weight Characterization of Tetragonula laeviceps Honey Protein

The concentration of protein in honey is very low compare with polysaccharide. However, recently the honey's protein is intensively studied and it shown that protein also have several biological activities such as antibacterial activity. The purpose of this research is to isolate and characterize Tetragonula laeviceps honey protein by determining the molecular weight. Honey protein of Trigona laeviceps was isolated using filtration with N2 pressure (membrane size 30 kda) then concentrated using Millipore TM tube membrane size 10 kDa. Molecular weight was analyzed by SDS PAGE. From analysis, there was major protein band in honey produced by Tetragona laeviceps identified. The produced molecular weight of major protein band was 87 kDa. Determining of the molecular weight of this protein could be used to detect the originality of Tetragonula laeviceps honey from Indonesia.