Bee bread and bee pollen of different plant sources: determination of phenolic content, antioxidant activity, fatty acid and element profiles

Abstract

This study aims to determine the plant sources, fatty acid composition, total phenolic-flavonoid content, antioxidant capacity, and elemental profile of bee pollen (BP) and bee bread (BB) samples from the same bee hive in different locations. 31 families and 71 species were determined by pollen analysis of BP and BB samples. Pollen frequencies in BB samples were generally similar or less than in BP. Total phenolic varied from 8.26 ± 0.299 to 43.42 ± 0.779 mg GAE/g, and total flavonoid ranged from 1.81 ± 0.040 to 4.44 ± 0.125 mg QE/g. ABTS and DDPH assays indicated that the samples have good antioxidant activity. Samples showed a protein content ranging from 17.6 to 22.2% while the total fatty acid was between 60.27 and 86.49%. The elemental analysis showed that all samples were rich in essential minerals. As a result, total protein, total fatty acids, moisture content and antioxidant capacity of BB samples were found to be lower than those of BP samples from the same hive. In spite of these data, it is necessary to work with more detailed and more samples to be able to say which bee product (bee pollen or bee bread) has superior properties as functional food.