Comparison of physicochemical parameters in royal jelly from Romania and Bulgaria.

Abstract

Royal jelly is a highly active natural biological substance secreted from the hypopharyngeal and mandibular glands of young worker honeybees ( Apis mellifera ). The main quality parameters of royal jelly composition are water, pr oteins, carbohydrates, lipids, 10-hydroxy-2- decenoic acid, ash, pH and acidity. The aim of this study is to compare physicochemical parameters in royal jelly samples from Romania and Bulgaria in or der to assess whether there are any differences between the samples from the both countries. The fo llowing parameters: proteins by Folin-Ciocalteu reagent; sugars (fructose, glucose, sucrose) by HPL C; water by refractometer and direct drying; total acidity by titration with 0.1 N NaOH and pH-potentiometrically were measured in 35 Bulgarian and 34 Romanian royal jelly samples collected from diff erent regions of both countries. The values obtained for parameters in samples from Romania are as follow: water 62.50±3.52%, proteins 13.04±1.87%, fructose 5.39±1.12%, glucose 5.41±1.45%, sucrose 1.19±0.67%, pH 3.99±0.09 and total acidity 3.78±0.53 ml 0.1 N NaOH/g. The samples from Bulgaria gave the following results: water 62.13±1.90%, proteins 15.83±2.58%, fructose 4.84±0.81%, glucose 4.51±1.05%, sucrose 1.92±1.21%, pH 3.85±0.18 and total acidity 3.90±1.42 ml 0.1 N NaOH/g. Higher levels of protein and sucrose and lower levels of fructose were found in Bulgarian royal jelly. Differences in climate between the two countries, different equipments use d for analysis, even the methods used are the same and RJ intrinsic heterogeneity can influence the co mposition of the product.