Abstract
The aim of this work was to study the chemical composition, botanical origin and the antioxidant activity of ethanolic extracts of bee pollen. The antioxidant activity was measured by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl hydrate (DPPH•) scavenging method and β-carotene-linoleic assay. The pollen extracts were purified using a XAD2 resin and the amount of phenolic compounds and flavonoids were identified by reverse phase-high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analyses. The phenolic content of bee pollen extracts before and after the resin were 38.6 and 17.8 mg/g of gallic acid equivalent in bee pollen, respectively. Two different flavonoids (rutin and myricetin) which can be accounted by the high antioxidant activity of bee pollen extracts were identified and quantified. The total antioxidant capacity measured by the DPPH• radical method increased significantly in bee pollen extracts purified with hydrophobic resin: 24.84–94.75% (Palmeira). All samples were considered heterofloral, which were composed by pollen from Myrtaceae eucalyptus, Asteraceae and Brassicaceae families, and among others.
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