Characterization of Bee Pollen: Physico-Chemical Properties, Headspace Composition and FTIR Spectral Profiles

Abstract

Chemical characterization of bee pollen is of great importance for its quality estimation. Multifloral and unifloral bee pollen samples collected from continental, mountain and Adriatic regions of Croatia were analyzed by means of physico-chemical, chromatographic (GC-MS), and spectroscopic (FTIR-ATR) analytical tools, aiming to conduct a comprehensive characterization of bee pollen. The most distinctive unifloral bee pollen with regard to nutritional value was Aesculus hippocastanum (27.26% of proteins), Quercus spp. (52.58% of total sugars), Taraxacumofficinale (19.04% of total lipids), and Prunusavium (3.81% of ash). No statistically significant differences between multifloral and unifloral bee pollen from different regions were found for most of the physico-chemical measurement data, with an exception of melezitose (p = 0.04). Remarkable differences were found among the bee pollen HS VOCs. The major ones were lower aliphatic compounds, monoterpenes (mainly linalool derivatives, especially in Prunusmahaleb and P.avium bee pollen), and benzene derivatives (mainly benzaldehyde in T.officinale and Salix spp.). Aldehydes C9 to C17 were present in almost all samples. FTIR-ATR analysis revealed unique spectral profiles of analyzed bee pollen exhibiting its overall chemical composition arising from molecular vibrations related to major macromolecules—proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates (sugars).

Influence of botanical origin on phenolic content and antioxidant capacity of monofloral bee pollen

“…The TPC of the Salix spp. bee pollen in this study expressed on the dry matter of pollen(Prđun et al, 2021) was 16.20 mg GAE/g and 16.52 mg GAE/g, which is comparable with the results ofMărghitaş et al (2009) Velásquez et al (2017). reported 33.34 mg GAE/g in Prunus spp.…”

“…In Croatia, research on bee pollen is scarce in comparison to research on other bee products, e.g., honey. The antioxidant activity of bee pollen collected in eastern Croatia was published in 2018 (Bilić Rajs et al, 2018), and mainly referred to bifloral and polifloral bee pollen samples, while Prđun et al (2021) published characterizations of bee pollen according to physico-chemical properties, headspace composition, and FTIR spectral profiles. The aim of this work was to evaluate the antioxidant capacity of monofloral bee pollen samples collected in Croatia and verify possible connections within examined parameters.…”

Mineral Content and Volatile Profiling of Prunus avium L. (Sweet Cherry) By-Products from Fundão Region (Portugal)

“…Lilac aldehydes (20, 21, and 25) were found in all cherry flower extracts ( Table 3 ). These compounds are olfactory molecules of great interest to pollinators, and they are commonly found in P. avium flowers [ 35 ], Syringa vulgaris L. [ 42 ], and bee pollen [ 43 ]. The lilac aldehydes in cherry flowers are characteristic aroma components [ 35 ].…”

Evaluation of the Putative Duplicity Effect of Novel Nutraceuticals Using Physico-Chemical and Biological In Vitro Models

“…According to Oroian et al (2020) [ 51 ], among the phenolic compounds, the majority compounds are 5-O-caffeoylquinic acids and caffeic acid from the phenolic acids group, quercetin 3-O-galactoside and isorhamnetin 3-O-glucoside from the flavonols group, and luteolin and apigenin from the flavones group. It is well known that the chemical composition of pollen differs significantly depending on the plant species, whether it is uniflora or multiflora, the climatic-geographical conditions [ 52 ], and its processing methods and storage environment [ 53 , 54 ]. Due to the fact that a higher value for Vitamin C was generated by the reduced capacity of the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent, the results obtained for it should not be taken into account for the total phenolic and flavonoid content.…”