BEE BREAD QUALITY: BOTANICAL IDENTIFICATION AND PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY

Abstract

Background. Bee bread is one of the products of beekeeping, which is used in pre­ventive and health nutrition, which is becoming more common. The quality and nutritional properties of bee bread depend on the conditions and technology of its production. The aim of the work was to study the qualityof bee bread of a certain regional and botanical origin, obtained by different technologies, for compliance with the require­ments of the national standard. Materials and methods. For comparative evaluation, the following technologies were selected: bee bread in honeycombs without extraction with drying (Т1);classic with manual extraction of bee bread (Т2);classical with freezing of honeycombs and grinding of wax mass (Т3);industrial technology using artificial honeycombs (Т4). Organoleptic (appearance, consistency, color, odor, taste) and physicochemical (acidity, humidity, wax impurities, flavonoids) indicators, microbiological and toxic elements are established according to the norms of DSTU 7074:2009 "Bee bread. Spe­cifications". Botanical definition of bee bread is according to melissopalinological analysis. Antioxidant activity was determined by free radical colorimetry based on the DPPH reac­tion (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl). Results. Bee bread, obtained by T2 and T4 technologies, according to organo­leptic assessment fully met the requirements of the current standard, by T1 – was imper­fect in appearance, and by T3 – unfit for consumption. According to physicochemical parameters, the best results were obtained by analyzing bee bread with industrial technology: the average humidity of the samples was – 7.37 %, the mass fraction of wax – 0.36 %, mechanical impurities were detected in only one sample (15-B), but did not exceed the permissible norms. The highest content of flavonoids was found in bee bread without extraction from the honeycombs using industrial technology. Monofloral bee bread from buckwheat had the highest content of flavonoids. The antioxidant properties of bee bread were the highest in samples, obtained by industrial technology using artificial honeycombs or in wax honeycombs without extrac­tion. Due to the fact that wax honeycombs are threatened by the development of pathogenic microorganisms and the impression of a wax moth, it is advisable to use industrial technologies. The antioxidant properties of bee bread differed depending on regional and botanical origin. Conclusion. The results indicate a significant advantage of safety and quality of bee bread, obtained by industrial technology using artificial honeycombs. Due to the fact that large amount of monofloral bee bread can be obtained only with the use of industrial technology, this once again confirms the feasibility of its introduction into production.