Honeybee Pollen From Southern Chile: Phenolic Profile, Antioxidant Capacity, Bioaccessibility, and Inhibition of DNA Damage

Abstract

Honeybee pollen (HBP) chemical composition is highly variable conforming to the floral and geographical origin of the pollen grains. The beneficial effects and functional properties of the HBP are well-known and have been mainly attributed to their high content of antioxidant polyphenols. In this work, twelve HBPs samples from the Southern region of Chile (X Región de Los Lagos) were characterized for the first time according to their botanical origin, phenolic composition, and antioxidant activity. The in vitro gastrointestinal digestion assay was done to simulate the human upper digestive tract. Selected honeybee pollen extracts (HBPEs) were assessed as bioaccessible fractions during an in vitro gastrointestinal digestion. Contents of phenolic compounds, antioxidant capacity, and recovery index of quercetin, myricetin, and cinnamic acid were monitored in different steps of gastrointestinal digestion. Furthermore, the protective effect of in vitro digested HBP towards DNA damage induced by peroxyl radicals was evaluated. The introduced species Brassica rapa L. (Brassicaceae), Lotus pedunculatus Cav. (Fabaceae), and Ulex europaeus L. (Fabaceae) predominated in all the HBPs analyzed, while the native species Buddleja globosa Hope (Scrophulariaceae), Luma apiculata (DC.) Burret (Myrtaceae), Embothrium coccineum J.R. Forst. & G. Forst. (Proteaceae) and Eucryphia cordifolia Cav. (Cunoniaceae) appeared less frequently. The content of polyphenols and antioxidant capacity in HBPEs achieved full bioaccessibility at the end of the intestinal digestion step. However, results obtained by a state-of-the-art technique (i.e. HPLC-DAD) demonstrated relatively low values of bioaccessible quercetin and cinnamic acid after the digestion process. In contrast, myricetin showed a high bioaccessibility in the intestinal digestion steps. The protective effect of in vitro digested HBP towards DNA damage induced by peroxyl radicals showed promising results (up to 91.2% protection). In conclusion, HBPs from the X Region de Los Lagos are rich sources of phenolic antioxidants that protect DNA from strand breakage. Therefore, the potential of HBPEs in preventing gastric and/or intestinal cancer should be further considered.

Floral Pollen Bioactive Properties and Their Synergy in Honeybee Pollen

“…Our research group has been determine the relations between phenolic composition and bioactive capacities on Chilean beehive products [1,5–7,30] . Antimicrobial capacity has a positive correlation with gallic acid (0.618), kaempferol (0.980), and rutin (0.595) ( Table S2 ).…”

“…Due to its composition of protein, amino acids, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, phenolic compounds, and carotenoids is used as the hive food [3,4] . The chemical composition of honeybee Pollen could indicate a great nutritional value and biological properties like antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti‐inflammatory, anticarcinogenic, and antiatherosclerotics, and it is now considered a functional food [3,5] . However, the biological activities may differ depending on their botanical origin (plants near the hive), the climate condition, and the harvest time by honeybees [1,6] …”

“…[3,4] The chemical composition of honeybee Pollen could indicate a great nutritional value and biological properties like antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic, and antiatherosclerotics, and it is now considered a functional food. [3,5] However, the biological activities may differ depending on their botanical origin (plants near the hive), the climate condition, and the harvest time by honeybees. [1,6] The bioactive properties like antimicrobial and antioxidant activities depend on bioactive compounds like polyphenols and carotenoids.…”

Phenolics from Chilean Bee Bread Exhibit Antioxidant and Antibacterial Properties: The First Prospective Study

“…products have important potential for the food industry. [10,12,14] Besides their use in the food industry, bee pollen and bee bread have a variety of applications in different fields due to their high content of compounds.…”

“…[10][11][12][13][14] Previous studies by our research team carried out tens of samples of Chilean honeybee pollen extracts from different Regions. [10,12,14] These results showed a strong presence of phenolic compounds such as syringic and coumaric acids, and the flavonoids myricetin and quercetin, the latter, being proposed as a quality marker to indicate the quality of Chilean bee pollen. [10,12,14] Nonetheless, it is very difficult to find beekeepers who collect bee bread in Chile.…”