Abstract
Bee products, such as honey, pollen, and bee bread, are an excellent source of bioactive ingredients, including minerals, having a health-supporting effect. However, due to the specific sensory properties of bee pollen and bee bread, the best way to include them in a diet is to add them to honey. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to evaluate the influence of the added bee pollen or bee bread on selected minerals content in multifloral honey. The mineral content was analyzed using absorption atomic spectrometry (FAAS) with prior dry mineralization. On the basis of obtained results, it was found that the addition of bee pollen or bee bread to honey significantly influences the content of selected macro- and microelements, excluding sodium. The greatest increase in mineral content was observed for magnesium, iron, and zinc. Enrichment of honey with the highest dose of bee pollen or bee bread resulted in an over 20-fold increase in the Mg and Fe content, and an over 14-fold increase in the Zn content. Honey enriched with the maximum addition of bee pollen was characterized by a higher content of K, Ca, Mg, Fe, and Cu compared to honey with bee bread. Due to a fact that both bee pollen and bee bread are good sources of minerals, their addition to honey significantly increases its ability to cover daily demand for macro- and microelements.
Highlights
Honey is a naturally sweet substance produced by honey bees Apis mellifera from plant nectar, secretions of live parts of plants or insect excretions
The greatest increase in mineral content was observed for magnesium, iron, and zinc
Honey enriched with the maximum addition of bee pollen was characterized by a higher content of K, Ca, Mg, Fe, and Cu compared to honey with bee bread
Summary
Honey is a naturally sweet substance produced by honey bees Apis mellifera from plant nectar, secretions of live parts of plants or insect excretions. Honey has been valued for centuries, in different countries and cultures, due to a diversified range of its preventive and health-supporting properties (Bogdanov et al, 2008; Socha, Habryka and Juszczak, 2016; Socha, Habryka and Juszczak, 2018). Consumption of natural honey contributes to improved immunity and enriches diet in many valuable nutrients and bioactive substances. It is an excellent form of digestible sugars, vitamins, organic acids, and many other biologically active substances (Bogdanov et al, 2008; Wesołowska and Dżugan, 2017). Apart from direct consumption, it is used to sweeten food and drinks, baking, preserving food, and preparing of mead (Dżugan, Ruszel and Tomczyk, 2018)
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