The main aim of this study was to determine antioxidant properties and antibacterial activity of monofloral bee pollen samples to pathogenic bacteria. These samples were collected in different localities in Slovakia. The antioxidant properties of examined plant species were different and decreasing in the following order: Brassica napus subsp. napus L > Papaver somniferum L. > Helianthus annuus L. The antimicrobial effect of the bee product samples were tested by using the agar well diffusion method. The methanol (99.9% and 70%) and the ethanol (96% and 70%) were used for extraction. In this study, five different strains of bacteria were tested: Listeria monocytogenes CCM 4699; Pseudomonas aeruginosa CCM 1960; Staphylococcus aureus CCM 3953; Salmonella enterica CCM 4420; and Escherichia coli CCM 3988. The most sensitive bacteria of the poppy pollen ethanolic extract was Staphylococcus aureus was (70%) The most sensitive bacteria of rape bee pollen methanolic extract (70%) and sunflower ethanolic extract (70%) was Salmonella enterica.

The objective of this study was to measure the content of flavonoids, polyphenols, and carotenoids in the Helianthus annuus L. bee pollen. It was also to evaluate the ability of the dried, frozen, and freeze-dried extracts of sunflower (H. annuus) pollen, its scavenged free radicals and reducing action. Another aim of this study was to investigate the antimicrobial in vitro action of the H. annuus pollen extracts against the Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and fungi. All pollen extracts showed medium antiradical activity and reductive ability. The most effective was the freeze-dried extract in both evaluation systems. The evaluation of the protective effects of DNA using a biosensor showed an opposite trending-frozen ˃ dried ˃ freeze-dried pollen. For the evaluation of antiradical activity, the DPPH method was used, and reductive ability was assessed by means of phosphomolybdic complex formation. The comparison of the polyphenols content shows higher values in freeze-dried bee pollen than in the dried and frozen pollen. The highest content of flavonoids was found in the frozen samples and the most carotenoids were present in the dried samples. In our study, the best antibacterial effects of the dried sunflower bee pollen extracts were found against Paenibacillus larvae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterococcus raffinosus. The best inhibitory properties of the frozen sunflower bee pollen extracts were found against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Paenibacillus larvae. Very good inhibitory effects of freeze-dried sunflower bee pollen were found against Paenibacillus larvae, Brochotrix thermosphacta, and Enterococcus raffinosus. The best antifungal activity of the sunflower bee pollen was found in the frozen bee pollen extracts against Aspergillus ochraceus and freeze-dried bee pollen extracts against Aspergillus niger.

Bee pollen" is pollen collected from flowers by honey bees. It is used by the bees to nourish themselves, mainly by providing royal jelly and brood food, but it is also used for human nutrition. For the latter purpose, it is collected at the hive entrance as pellets that the bees bring to the hive. Bee pollen has diverse bioactivities, and thus has been used as a health food, and even as medication in some countries. In this paper, we provide standard methods for carrying out research on bee pollen. First, we introduce a method for the production and storage of bee pollen which assures quality of the product. Routine methods are then provided for the identification of the pollen's floral sources, and determination of the more important quality criteria such as water content and content of proteins, carbohydrates, fatty acids, vitamins, alkaloids, phenolic and polyphenolic compounds. Finally, methods are described for the determination of some important bioactivities of bee pollen such as its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and antimutagenic properties. M etodos est andar Para la investigaci on del polenEl "polen de abeja" es el polen recogido de las flores por las abejas mel ıferas. El polen de abeja es utilizado para nutrir a las propias abejas, principalmente para proporcionar jalea real y alimento para las cr ıas, pero tambi en se utiliza para la nutrici on humana. Para este ultimo fin, se recoge en la entrada de la colmena en forma de gr anulos que las abejas llevan a la colmena. El polen de abeja tiene diversas bioactividades, por lo que se hautilizado como alimento para la salud, e incluso como medicamento en algunos pa ıses. En este art ıculo, proporcionamos m etodos est andar para llevar a cabo investigaciones sobre el polen de abeja. En primer lugar, presentamos un m etodo de producci on y almacenamiento de polen de abeja que garantiza la calidad del producto. A continuaci on, se ofrecen m etodos de rutina para la identificaci on de las fuentes florales del polen y la determinaci on de los criterios de calidad m as importantes, como el contenido de

The aim of our work was to characterize linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) genotypes divided into groups with high and low content of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). Out of 32 linseed genotypes, 68.75 % represented high alpha-linolenic genotypes and 31.25 % were genotypes with low ALA content. Proportional representation of fatty acids was realized according to the norm (Czech Office for Standards, Metrology and Testing, 1994). Oil content was analyzed according to the internal methodology of Agritec Ltd., based on the norm (Czech Office for Standards, Metrology and Testing, 2011). The content of total fat ranged from 36.22 % to 46.35 %, that of ALA from 1.10 % to 65.20 %, and that of linoleic acid (LA) from 11.10 % to 75.00 % in the analyzed seed samples within all groups. The genotypes were divided also according to the seed color and a linear correlation between all three parameters within these groups was observed. Negative linear dependence was confirmed between parameters; ALA and LA content in the groups: high ALA brown seed (p < 0.0001; correlation coefficient (r) = −0.70), and high ALA yellow seed (p < 0.001; r = −0.36). Also, positive linear dependence between the total fat and the LA content in the groups: low ALA brown seed (p < 0.001; r = 0.34); low ALA yellow seed (p < 0.0001; r = 0.62), was found.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of non-coding RNAs about 20-24 nucleotides long. They play an important role in the gene regulation at the post-transcriptional level. They affect the plant genome response to environmental stress. The miRNA-based molecular markers is type of functional markers reported in very few plants. However, the information connected to the evaluation of genotypes by this type of markers within a single species is missing. Considering the stability, polymorphism, functionality and transferability potential of miRNA-based markers, the research was conducted to apply selected types of them (miR156b, miR408a and the combined type of miR156b/miR408a) for the genotyping analysis of eight flax genotypes of different origin together with the morphology analyses. A total of 145 miRNA loci were identified, of which 19 were unique. The highest numbers of miRNA loci (57) and unique fragments (9) as well as the highest percentage of polymorphism and the extent of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of miRNA fragments have been observed with the combination of miR156b-F and miR408-F markers. By means of the miRNA markers has been recorded the unique profile of the miRNA loci for individual accessions. The morphology study has shown that the genotypes are the same in the expression of selected morphological traits despite the different use and different places of origin. However, we have identified an interface between some of morphological traits and miRNA-based markers for genotyping the genetic resources of flax. By mutually linking these two types of markers, we were able to determine unique genotypes of flax.