Pollen analysis of honeys from the central zone of the Argentine province of Entre Ríos

Abstract

Based on the melissopalynology 38 honey samples collected in the central region of the Argentine province of Entre Ríos were classified by botanical and geographical origin. According to qualitative analysis, 20 honey samples were monofloral and 18 were multifloral. Dominant pollen types were Scutia buxifolia Reissek (Rhamnaceae) in six samples, Baccharis spp. (Asteraceae) in five, Lotus spp. (Fabaceae) in three, Eucalyptus spp. (Myrtaceae) and Eryngium spp. (Apiaceae) in two, Ammi visnaga (L.) Lam. (Apiaceae) and Trithrinax campestris (Burmeist.) Drude & Griseb. (Arecaceae) in one sample. One hundred and nineteen pollen types were identified belonging to 52 families; 75% of which were native species. The families best represented in number of species were Asteraceae and Fabaceae. Pollen types such as Scutia buxifolia, Trithrinax campestris, Schinus spp. (Anacardiaceae), Mimosoideae from Prosopis spp., Acacia spp., Mimosa ostenii Speg. ex Burkart, and M. strigillosa Torr. & A.Gray are considered the indicators for this geographical origin. The studied honeys were also characterized by a high frequency of Apiaceae, Brassicaceae, Astereae, Echium plantagineum L. and cultivated Papilionoideae forage species such as Melilotus albus Desr., Lotus spp. and Trifolium spp. Honeydew elements were scarce.

Pollen analysis of honeys from Caatinga vegetation of the state of Bahia, Brazil

“…Almeida et al (2005) also documented the presence of Asteraceae pollen types in honeys from same research area. Although the Asteraceae family is one of the richest in number of species and the most visited by social bees in different regions (Andrada & Tellería, 2002;Bhusari et al, 2005;Fagúndez & Caccavari, 2006), it did not have a significant contribution to honey production in Nova Soure.…”

Determination of Antioxidant Capacity, Flavonoids, and Total Phenolic Content in Eucalyptus and Clover Honeys

“…The aim of this work was to measure the antioxidant capacity, total phenolic compound content, and flavonoid content in eucalyptus and clover honeys, in order to estimate the nutritional relevance of antioxidant capacity, which also contributes to the characterization of these honeys. (Fagúndez and Caccavari, 2006). According to a palynological analysis (Loveaux et al, 1978), 53 honeys were from clovers (Trifolium sp.)…”

The importance of weeds as melliferous flora in central Chile

“…In the weed taxa present in the honey samples, the families most frequently represented were Fabaceae (eight species and three genera), Brassicaceae (one species and two genera) and Asteraceae (two species). These families have also previously been reported to be the most frequently observed sources of pollen in honey samples (Valle et al, 2001;Forcone et al, 2005;Fagúndez and Caccavari, 2006;Böke, 2013;Ciappini and Vitelleschi, 2013). Overall, 74% of the weeds used by Apis mellifera were European in origin, and 53% of the weeds had perennial life cycles (Table 1).…”

“…A total of 100 µL of each sample was deposited on each of four microscope slides. The four preparations were observed under an optical microscope, and the pollen grains from each species were counted (Montenegro et al, 2003;Ramírez and Montenegro, 2004;Forcone et al, 2005;Fagúndez and Caccavari, 2006;Montenegro et al, 2013a). The pollen types that were identified and that corresponded to species that are considered weeds were classified according to their importance in Chilean crops, as specified by Matthei (1995), based on the classification system proposed by Holm (1979).…”

“…Thus, weeds used by melliferous bees as a nectar source can be important in honey production, even though the flora surrounding apiaries is primarily native. Several authors (Horn and Aira, 1997;Montenegro et al, 2003;Ramírez andMontenegro, 2004, Forcone et al, 2005;Fagúndez and Caccavari, 2006;Montenegro and Fredes, 2008;Böke, 2013;Ciappini and Vitelleschi, 2013;Montenegro et al, 2013aMontenegro et al, , 2013b have reported the presence of certain pollen types from diverse species considered weeds in monofloral honeys made from the nectar of native species, and monofloral honeys made from the nectar of weeds have even been reported. Many weed species are also pollen sources, as has been shown by several authors (Montenegro et al, 1992;Montenegro et al, 1997;Forcone et al, 2011;Chamorro-García et al, 2013), but in this work, we analyzed only nectar sources.…”