Abstract
Pollen is recognized as an excellent dietary supplement for human nutrition, which is why it can be found in different forms on the market (granules, capsules, tablets, pellets, and powders). But, the digestibility of pollen’s nutrients is strongly affected by the presence of a pollen shell, which can decrease the bioavailability of nutrients by 50% and more. Since consumers have become more aware of the benefits of a healthy diet and the necessity to improve pollen digestibility, different pollen-based functional food products have been developed and extensive studies were done to estimate the beneficial effects of pollen-based feed on animal growth, health, and rigor mortise stage. Considering the positive effects of pollen nutrients and phytometabolites on human and animal health, the aim of this paper was to give an overview of recent achievements in the application of pollen in the formulation of functional food and animal diets. Special attention was paid to the effects of pollen’s addition on the nutritional, functional, techno-functional, and sensory properties of the new formulated food products. Anti-nutritional properties of pollen were also discussed. This review points out the benefits of pollen addition to food and feed and the possible directions in the further development of functional food and feed for the wellbeing of everyone.
Highlights
The term pollen was established in the 17th century from the Latin word which defines fine powder, this plant material has been known as “food” for centuries [1]
The results showed that the addition of probiotics, royal jelly and bee-collected pollen to the yogurt increased the coagulation time and nutritional quality, and improved the sensory and rheological properties of the produced functional yogurts compared to the control ones
The results showed that, generally, fermentation had a positive effect on the total flavonoid content and the obtained values were comparable to those obtained for natural bee bread
Summary
The term pollen was established in the 17th century from the Latin word which defines fine powder (flour), this plant material has been known as “food” for centuries [1]. Worker bees use pollen for royal jelly production (basic food for the larval queen and worker larvae) or directly as food due to the great amount of proteins and lipids present in it [2] As it immensely benefits the insects’ diet, pollen has become an important component of animal feed, above all, as an exceptional source of proteins and a good natural substitute for antibiotics [3]. Numerous review papers focus on a detailed overview of the pollen nutrients (carbohydrates, protein, amino acids, lipids, and minerals), their phytometabolites (carotenoids, phenols, flavonoids, and vitamins), and their positive effects on human health and possible therapeutic properties [5,6,17,18]. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report which summarizes all these findings
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