Bee bread is product with long history used mainly in folk medicine. Nowadays, bee bread is growing in commercial interest due to its high nutritional properties. The objective of this study was to determine biological activity of ethanolic extract of bee bread obtained from selected region of Ukraine -Poltava oblast, Kirovohrad oblast, Vinnica oblast, Kyiv oblast, Dnepropetrovsk oblast. The antioxidant activity was measured with the radical scavenging assays using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical as well as phosphomolybdenum assay. Total polyphenol content was determined with Folin-Ciocalteau reagent and total flavonoid content by aluminium-chloride method. Secondary was also evaluated antimicrobial activity in bee bread samples with disc diffusion method and minimum inhibitory concentrations. Antioxidant activity expressed as mg TEAC per g of dry weight (Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity) was the highest in bee bread from Poltava oblast in DPPH and also phosphomolybdenum method. Samples of bee bread contained high levels of total polyphenols (12.36 -18.24 mg GAEgallic acid equivalent per g of dry weight) and flavonoids (13.56 -18.24 μg QEquercetin equivalent per g of dry weight) with the best values of bee bread from Poltava oblast. An elevated level of antioxidant potential in the bee bread determines its biological properties, which conditioned of the biological active substances. The best antibacterial activity of bee bred with disc diffusion method was found against Bacillus thuringiensis CCM 19. The antibacterial activity inhibited by the bee bread extract in the present study indicate that best minimal inhibition concentration was against bacteria Escherichia coli CCM 3988 and Salmonella enterica subs. enterica CCM 3807.

Until recently, the main mass of beebread was lost in the process of melting raw and used as material and only its minor portion was used by beekeepers for their own needs. This was mostly due to considerable time to remove beebread from combs as well as bad preservation in the condition of normal environment. However, nowadays with the increase in demand for this kind of product of beekeeping, scientists and practitioners are interested in the development of the technologies of beebread production. The aim of our work was to develop new technological equipment for bee bread production of using artificial comb. Research and construction equipment and its testing were conducted during 2011-2016. The bases of scientific research were "Research Apiary of Holosiievo" of the Department of Horse-Breeding and Beekeeping of the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine (Ukraine) and Institute of Biodiversity Conservation and Biosafety of the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra (Slovak Republic). Approval of new industrial technology was carried out on bee-farms of different forms of ownership in Ukraine. Currently, this technology is patented (no. UA71320) and used by beekeepers in Ukraine. The plastic cartridges were developed, which with the help of holders can be easily connected to each other and forming an artificial comb. One side of the comb is assembled from individual cartridges (435 × 300 mm, 300 × 435 mm, 435 × 230 mm), then a polyethylene Backlit membrane (PET) with the thickness of 0.36 mm is put over and serves as a partition. Then the second side is put over the membrane. The cartridges assembled into the comb are connected to each other with holders. Such comb after filling bee pollen is put into the bee family nest to obtain the beebread. After the comb gets filled with beebread, it is removed from the hive, then the cartridges are separated and the content of the cells is ejected. After ripening of the bee bread for two weeks, comb removed from the hive, the cartridges are then separated and the content of the cells is ejected. We were also designed and constructed manual and mechanized device for bee pollen compression and beebread removing.

Ključne reči: pritisno opterećenje, stepen relativnog produženja, modul elastičnosti, pčelinji hleb.

We have investigated different ways of bees’ stimulation to lay protein food while using artificial honeycombs. It has been proved that the use of artificial combs to get bee-bread upon the condition of the post-treatment processing of its elements by wax and honey syrup does not stimulate bees to lay and process protein food in their cells. It has been identified that upon the condition of the direct involvement of the working bees into the formation of bee-bread supplies the protein food has been mostly consumed. This proves that the working bees use the freshly-gathered pollen pellet for their own needs in the period of its active gathering. It has been determined that the most effective way of bee stimulation to reprocess pollen pellet into bee-bread is it's single densifying in artificial honeycombs with the follow-up processing of the upper layer of the feed by honey. This way encourages bees to form stocks of bee bread and decreases their activity of consuming protein food from cells of artificial honeycombs. The processing of thickened pollen pellet by honey probably oppresses the bees’ need to consume protein food from the packed cells redirecting them to other honeycombs of the bee family’s nest which has areas with bee-bread reserves.

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