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•Comparative insight on bee pollen (BP) conservation techniques.•This is first study evaluating the use of high-pressure pasteurization (HPP) for BP.•HPP retains BP nutrients and ...characteristics.•The stability of HPP-submitted BP is maintained during storage.
Bee Pollen is a valuable and useful natural food product that can be used for different purposes, among which medical ones. This matrix is deemed a superfood because of its chemical composition, which is rich in nutrients and possesses significant bioactivities, including antioxidant and microbiological properties. Nevertheless, the storage conditions and processing methods must be optimized to maintain their properties and maximise their application. This work investigates the best bee pollen conservation process and its impact on individual constituents. Monofloral bee pollen was analysed for 30 and 60 days after three different storage processes (drying, pasteurization, and high-pressure pasteurization). The results showed a decrease mainly in fatty acid and amino acid content for the dried samples. The best results were obtained with high-pressure pasteurization, maintaining the proteins, amino acids and lipids characteristics of pollen and the lowest microbial contamination.
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Conductive metal inks with 3D-printable rheological properties have gained considerable attention, owing to their potential for manufacturing 3D electronics. Typically, such inks are ...formulated with high volume fractions of metal particles to achieve both rheological and electrical percolation. However, this leads to a high product cost and weight, making this approach potentially undesirable for practical application. In this study, naturally occurring ingredients, i.e., bee pollen microparticles (BPMPs) and citric acids (CAs), are used to produce a jammed hexane-in-aqueous suspension-type emulsion with controllable viscoelasticity as a template for conductive metal particles. Correspondingly, it is possible to develop 3D-printable, lightweight, and conductive inks. The BPMPs and CAs, as rheology modifiers, facilitate the 3D printability of the ink. After drying, the ink forms 3D networks without macroscopic discontinuities. Hexanes co-dispersed with BPMPs and CAs in the aqueous continuous phase improve the ink rheological processability and create internal macropores within the 3D-printed structure upon evaporation under ambient conditions, decreasing the product density. A conductive copper ink based on the emulsion template shows excellent 3D printability and electrical percolation at low metal loadings (<10 vol%); moreover, the printed ink with the optimized formulation has a remarkably low density (<2 g ∙ cm−3).
Bee pollen (BP) has been increasingly studied because it contains a wide variety of bioactive compounds, including vitamins. Brazilian botanical diversity, together with the potential of local ...beekeeping production, makes BP's capacity as a food source of bioactive compounds major focus for research. In this scenario, the objective of this study was to screen and evaluate the chemical composition, including antioxidant vitamins, of BP samples from southern Brazil, and to correlate them with their botanical origin. Analyses of nutritional composition were performed to compare them with the quality parameters established by Brazilian and international regulations. Additionally, individual sugars and vitamins (C, E and pro-vitamin A) were quantified and microscopic analysis for taxon classification was performed to correlate with vitamins and nutritional composition. The results of the chemical analysis showed that the samples were in accordance with the relevant regulations. The composition of vitamins and pollen types varied among the samples. Some BP could be classified as a source of a particular vitamin in a standard dose (25g). Lipid and protein content from Rio Grande do Sul presented higher mean values (p<0.05) compared with the other two states. Some correlations between chemical composition and botanical taxon were observed. Principal component analysis showed that the samples from the states of Rio Grande do Sul and Paraná presented similarities in terms of composition for each location. HCA and PLSDA were not able to classify the samples based on the chemical markers used. The analysis of vitamins confirmed that BP from this region can be a good source of antioxidant vitamins and that it can provide important nutritional information to food researchers and bioactive compounds for consumers.
•Investigation of bioactive compounds on bee pollen from southern Brazil is proposed.•We evaluate the nutritional composition and antioxidant vitamins of bee pollen.•Pollen analysis permits correlation with some bioactive compounds.•Multivariate techniques explain chemical patterns according to producing region.
Botanical origin of a bee pollen sample is frequently determined by palynological analysis which also enables classification of the bee pollen samples as monofloral and polyfloral. Nevertheless, ...palynological analysis does not give an insight on its chemical composition and thus its potential therapeutic activities. In this study, the relationship between the botanical origins, chemical compositions and biological activities of bee pollen samples were comparatively investigated. Firstly, bee pollen samples (PO1-11) were examined by palynological method and 5 of them were grouped as monofloral, and the rest was grouped as polyfloral bee pollen. Then, HPTLC analysis was performed for fingerprinting of the phenolic compounds and caffeic acid, isoquercitrin, galangin and chrysin were found the common phenolic components in the bee pollen samples, and these were assigned as “key markers”. Then, a newly developed and validated HPLC method was applied to quantify these key markers in the samples. Furthermore, their total phenolic and total flavonoid contents were comparatively studied. Bioactivity of bee pollen samples were assessed by in-vitro antioxidant and antimicrobial activity tests. A polyfloral bee pollen sample (PO2) was found to exert the highest antioxidant activity. Besides, PO2 and PO9 (polyfloral) showed the highest antimicrobial activity.
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•Floral origins of different bee pollens were assessed by palynological analysis.•HPTLC fingerprints were used to characterize mono/polyfloral bee pollens.•Marker compounds were quantified by a validated HPLC method.•A polyfloral bee pollen showed the highest antioxidant and antimicrobial activity.
Vibrational spectroscopy was applied to determine macronutrient levels, total polyphenols (TPs) content, antioxidant activity, pH and color parameters in bee pollens. Raman, attenuated total ...reflection and diffuse reflectance spectra in the mid- and near-infrared regions were recorded for the homogenized pollen granules. Combining spectral data and the results of reference analyses, partial least squares (PLS) models were constructed and validated. The relative standard errors of prediction (RSEP) were calculated for the calibration and validation sets. Regarding macronutrient analysis, the latter were found to be in the 1.7–2.3%, 2.5–3.6% and 2.6–3.3% ranges for protein, reducing sugars and fat determination, respectively. These errors amounted to 3.1–3.5% for TPs and 2.2–3.4% for antioxidant activity quantification, respectively, whereas they were found to be in the 1.5–2.3% and 1.6–3.2% ranges for pH and the color parameters’ determination.
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•For the first time, nutrients in bee pollen were quantified based on Raman spectra.•TPs, antioxidant activity, pH and color parameters were also determined.•DRIFTS in MIR and NIR regions and ATR spectroscopy enabled similar analyses.•The developed protocols are based on a single spectrum of a powdered pollen sample.
A mixture of bee pollen and honey could represent a complete food supplement for human diet. In this study, for three bee pollen-honey mixtures ratios at two storage times (0 and 90 days) at room ...temperature, water activity (aw) were investigated. For the mixtures were employed Castanea and Eucalyptus pollen species, and acacia, chestnut and “beach” honeys. In the mixtures, Castanea and Eucalyptus pollen showed a different aw trend in relation to pollen concentration and to storage time. In Castanea-honeys mixtures and in Eucalyptus-honey mixtures (only at time 0) aw values were higher than each component of the corresponding mixtures. In Eucalyptus-honeys mixtures (only at time 90) aw values were lower than each component. This investigation highlights that honey, bee-pollen and their mixtures, stored at room temperature, could have a little change in their aw content, in time. Results shows that aw values of bee pollen mixed with honey were all lower than 0.7, although bee pollen-honey mixtures were stored at room temperature instead at freezing temperature (−15 °C) for 90 days.
•Investigation of water activity in bee pollen, honey and bee pollen-honey mixtures.•Bee pollen-honey mixtures ratios after 90 days at room temperature were analysed.•Mixtures aw content were lower than 0.7, limit for pathogen microorganism growth.•In Castanea-honey mixtures aw values were higher than each component.•After 90 days, Eucalyptus-honeys mixtures aw values were lower than each component.
An overview about apitherapy and its clinical applications Weis, Wilson Antonio; Ripari, Nicolas; Conte, Fernanda Lopes ...
Phytomedicine Plus : International journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology,
20/May , Volume:
2, Issue:
2
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
•Traditional knowledge: clues about bee products in treating and preventing diseases.•In vitro and in vivo assays: information on the biological action of bee products.•Clinical trials provide a ...basis for apitherapists, who must spread their knowledge.•Exchange of information is necessary between people instered in bee products.
Humanity has benefited from bee products over the centuries for treating and preventing various illnesses, and apitherapy has been employed in several countries as a complementary medicine. This review aimed to discuss scientific research and clinical trials using bee products and their relationship with apitherapy.
Scientific researches based on studies carried out in vitro using different cell cultures, and in vivo studying mice or other experimental animals are discussed. Clinical trials using bee products are also documented.
The most common applications of bee products in apitherapy are presented, as well as cases of allergy to bee products and apitherapy for treating allergies. Standardization of bee products and their use in research and apitherapy are discussed.
Apitherapy is practiced in some parts of the world, bringing benefits for healthy individuals and patients, with no clear consensus on its application according to the world regions or a prevalent use of bee product and treated disease. Different recommendations regarding the use of bee products are found and people ingest different amounts of bee products once or several times a day. Although we have advanced a lot about the knowledge of bee products, it is imperative to exploit their potential and standardize their use, communicating the results in scientific and alternative events to reinforce the exchange of information between beekeepers, researchers, apitherapists, nutritionists, physicians, sellers and consumers of bee products. If not, we will always be working separately, without complementing our expertise.
•Bee pollen is a good source of bioactive compounds.•The composition of bee pollen depends strongly on plant source.•Solvent extraction has been the most used sample treatment.•UV–vis and titration ...have been mainly employed for determining the total content.•LC (RP or NP) has been the technique of choice when determining individual content.
Since ancient times bee pollen has been considered a good source of bioactive substances and energy. Taking into account the current demand for healthy and natural foods, it is not surprising that bee pollen has been attracting commercial interest in recent years, making it one of the most widely consumed food supplements. It has been extensively reported that bee pollen contains several health-promoting compounds, such as proteins, amino acids, lipids, phenolic compounds, vitamins or minerals. Thus, this study aims to give an overview of the extraction and determination techniques of several of the above-mentioned compounds which have been published in the last few years (2011-2017). The design of the study is in accordance with the different families of bioactive compounds, and the extraction procedures together with the analytical techniques employed and their determination are discussed. A list of some of the most relevant applications is provided for each category, including a brief summary of the experimental conditions. The references included will provide the reader with a comprehensive overview of and insight into the analysis of bioactive compounds from bee pollen.
The aim of this study was to indicate the potential application of bee pollen as a dietary supplement. Biscuits are one of the most consumed confectionery products in the world. With this fact in ...mind, an attempt was made to find an optimal recipe for biscuits with the addition of pollen, and at the same time investigate the physical, chemical and health-promoting properties in obtained products. Although it was found that the addition of bee pollen did not affect the fat content in biscuits, it had a statistically significant effect on sugar, protein, ash, fibre, as well as the content of polyphenols and antioxidant potential. Biscuits that had been improved with bee pollen were characterized by higher penetration work and a darker surface when compared to the control. However, only up to 5% of pollen was needed to enable the taste of biscuits to be at the same level as the control.
•The fortification effect in biscuits were investigated.•The optimal concentration of bee pollen in biscuits was specified.•Bee pollen had a pronounced effect on antioxidant properties in biscuits.•Biscuits improved with pollen had darker surface than the control.
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