Abstract
Bee pollen constitutes a natural source of antioxidants such as phenolic acids and flavonoids, which are responsible for its biological activity. Research has indicated the correlation between dietary polyphenols and cardioprotective, hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, anticancerogenic, immunostimulating, antianaemic effects, as well as their beneficial influence on osseous tissue. The beneficial effects of bee pollen on health result from the presence of phenolic acids and flavonoids which possess anti-inflammatory properties, phytosterol and linolenic acid which play an anticancerogenic role, and polysaccharides which stimulate immunological activity. Polyphenols are absorbed in the alimentary tract, metabolised by CYP450 enzymes, and excreted with urine and faeces. Flavonoids and phenolic acids are characterised by high antioxidative potential, which is closely related to their chemical structure. The high antioxidant potential of phenolic acids is due to the presence and location of hydroxyl groups, a carboxyl group in the immediate vicinity of ortho-diphenolic substituents, and the ethylene group between the phenyl ring and the carboxyl group. As regards flavonoids, essential structural elements are hydroxyl groups at the C5 and C7 positions in the A ring, and at the C3′ and C4′ positions in the B ring, and a hydroxyl group at the C3 position in the C ring. Furthermore, both, the double bond between C2 and C3, and a ketone group at the C4 position in the C ring enhance the antioxidative potential of these compounds. Polyphenols have an ideal chemical structure for scavenging free radicals and for creating chelates with metal ions, which makes them effective antioxidants in vivo.
Highlights
In recent years, there has been an increased interest in the addition of bioactive ingredients from plants, such as polyphenols, to food
The anti-inflammatory properties of bee pollen have been confirmed in clinical tests of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH)
In in vitro and in vivo tests conducted on mice, an inhibiting effect of bee pollen extracts has been determined on the activation of mast cells induced by immunoglobulins E (IgE)
Summary
There has been an increased interest in the addition of bioactive ingredients from plants, such as polyphenols, to food. Bee pollen possesses a powerful antioxidative activity owing to various compounds contained in it, which has been confirmed in many studies [2,7,12,13,14,16,17,18,19,20,21]. It constitutes a rich source of exogenous amino acids with branched chains, i.e., leucine, isoleucine, and valine. It contains lipids—especially unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins and mineral substances. Owing to its nutrient and biotic properties, preparations made of bee pollen are used as dietary supplements, while bee pollen extracts can be used for enriching food in substances with pro-health effects, and for making nutraceuticals
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