The botanical origin and antioxidant, anti-BACE1 and antiproliferative properties of bee pollen from different regions of South Korea

Abstract

Background Bee pollen (BP) has been used as a traditional medicine and food diet additive due to its nutritional and biological properties. The potential biological properties of bee pollen vary greatly with the botanical and geographical origin of the pollen grains. This study was conducted to characterize the botanical origin and assess the antioxidant effects of ethanol extracts of 18 different bee pollen (EBP) samples from 16 locations in South Korea and their inhibitory activities on human β-amyloid precursor cleavage enzyme (BACE1), acetylcholinesterase (AChE), human intestinal bacteria, and 5 cancer cell lines. Methods The botanical origin and classification of each BP sample was evaluated using palynological analysis by observing microscope slides. We measured the biological properties, including antioxidant capacity, inhibitory activities against human BACE1, and AChE, and antiproliferative activities toward five cancer cell lines, of the 18 EBPs. In addition, the growth inhibitory activities on four harmful intestinal bacteria, six lactic acid-producing bacteria, two nonpathogenic bacteria, and an acidulating bacterium were also assessed. Results Four samples (BP3, BP4, BP13 and BP15) were found to be monofloral and presented four dominant pollen types: Quercus palustris , Actinidia arguta , Robinia pseudoacacia , and Amygdalus persica . One sample (BP12) was found to be bifloral, and the remaining samples were considered to be heterofloral. Sixteen samples showed potent antioxidant activities with EC 50 from 292.0 to 673.9 μg mL − 1 . Fourteen samples presented potent inhibitory activity against human BACE1 with EC 50 from 236.0 to 881.1 μg mL − 1 . All samples showed antiproliferative activity toward the cancer cell lines PC-3, MCF-7, A549, NCI-H727 and AGS with IC 50 from 2.7 to 14.4 mg mL − 1 , 0.9 to 12.7 mg mL − 1 , 5.0 to > 25 mg mL − 1 , 2.7 to 17.7 mg mL − 1 , and 2.4 to 8.7 mg mL − 1 , respectively. In addition, total phenol and flavonoid contents had no direct correlation with antioxidant, anti-human BACE1, or antiproliferative activities. Conclusion Fundamentally, Korean bee pollen-derived preparations could be considered a nutritional addition to food to prevent various diseases related to free radicals, neurodegenerative problems, and cancers. The botanical and geographical origins of pollen grains could help to establish quality control standards for bee pollen consumption and industrial production.

Bee Pollen as Functional Food: Insights into Its Composition and Therapeutic Properties

“…The use of natural products such as beehive products including honey, pollen, royal jelly, and propolis as a source of antioxidant molecules has been supported and suggested to protect human cells from the effects of oxidative stress by numerous scientific studies [ 142 ]. Moreover, the antioxidant activities of bee pollen have been evaluated in several works using well-known techniques such as DPPH, ABTS, β- carotene, FRAP, CUPRAC, NO, and TAC assays [ 132 , 138 , 140 , 143 , 144 , 145 , 146 , 147 , 148 , 149 , 150 , 151 , 152 , 153 , 154 , 155 , 156 , 157 , 158 , 159 , 160 , 161 , 162 , 163 , 164 , 165 , 166 , 167 , 168 , 169 , 170 ]. Table 3 summarizes all studies that have evaluated the antioxidant activity of bee pollen.…”

“…Other research works reported a variable antioxidant effect of different bee pollen extracts including those from Algeria, Greece, Italy, Korea, Spain, Slovakia, Malaysia, Serbia, Thailand, and Poland, and this variability can be significantly related to a variety of botanical and geographical origins [ 132 , 140 , 143 , 147 , 148 , 153 , 154 , 156 , 158 , 159 , 163 , 164 , 165 , 170 ].…”

Pharmaceutical Prospects of Bee Products: Special Focus on Anticancer, Antibacterial, Antiviral, and Antiparasitic Properties

“…However, it inhibits intracellular tyrosinase (TYR) and interfere with the expression of mRNA corresponding to TYR and tyrosinase receptor, TRP-1 and TRP-2 [119]. Bee pollens collected from different places in South Korea were tested against human prostate adenocarcinoma (PC-3), human lung carcinoma (NCI-H727), human lung carcinoma (A549), MCF-7, and AGS, resulting in IC 50 values between 0.9 to >25 mg/mL [120]. Stronger anticancer properties were shown by enzymatically cleaved bee pollen proteins, also known as the hydrolysates.…”

Translational Research on Bee Pollen as a Source of Nutrients: A Scoping Review from Bench to Real World

“…BP antioxidant activity is one of its most studied properties [ 99 ]. This bioeffect, which usually results from a combination of diverse mechanisms [ 79 ], is almost universally present in BP as it was always reported by published studies that searched for it, disregarding when and where they were undertaken [ 9 , 32 , 60 , 74 , 79 , 100 , 101 , 102 , 103 , 104 , 105 ]. Moreover, it has marked significance for its anti-inflammatory potential [ 65 , 101 ].…”