Physicochemical characteristics of fresh bee pollen from different botanical origins

摘要

Bee pollen has a great importance in apiterapy through which it contributes to developmentcomplementary and alternative medical practices. Due to its specifficaly chemical characteristicsduring botanical sources, monofloral bee pollen represents a safe alternative in medical practice.In this study were selected ten samples of fresh bee pollen collected from different apiariessituated in Romania and were determined botanical origin, physico chemical properties, nutritionalvalue, and antibacterial activity. Physico-chemical characteristics of analised pollen were obtained asa result of the following laboratory parameters: moisture, free acidity, proteins, lipids, ash, total sugarsand the amount of macro and micro elements by ICP OES. Pollen ethanolic extracts (PEE) were testedfor antimicrobial activity against human pathogenic bacteria and fungal strains.Bee pollen samples indicate large variations of the chemical composition due to the diferentbotanical origin and great nutritional value. The highest variations are found among lipids andcarbohydrates, ranged from 1.33 – 5.47% for lipids and 23.31 – 48.63% for carbohydrates. Prunus sp.pollen contained the highest amounts of Fe (150,9 ± 1,11 mg/Kg), while Mg level (1505 ± 1,43 mg/Kg)was highest in Brassica sp. pollen type. PEE possessed the best antimicrobial activity against Grampositive bacteria. The obtained results support the use of bee pollen as ingredient in many supplementsand medicines.