Moroccan Monofloral Bee Pollen: Botanical Origin, Physicochemical Characterization, and Antioxidant Activities

Abstract

In this study, eight monofloral bee pollen samples were collected from different apiaries in Morocco. Botanical origins of the bee pollen samples were determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the physicochemical parameters (pH, moisture, ash, and the mineral contents) were determined. Total phenolic, flavones/flavonols contents were evaluated, and the antioxidant potential was assessed using total antioxidant capacity, DPPH, ABTS, and reducing power assays. Data showed that pH, moisture, and ash content values ranged between 4.19 ± 0.17 and 4.82 ± 0.36, 10.7 ± 0.04% and 26.8 ± 0.01%, and 1.81 ± 0.10% and 4.22 ± 0.08%, respectively. Potassium and magnesium were the most abundant minerals in bee pollen samples; heavy metals were not detected except for two samples (P5 and P6) where a very small amount of lead was found. The protein content in these samples varied between 19.86 ± 0.36 mg/100 g and 30.32 ± 0.12 mg/100 g of bee pollen. The phenolic content, flavones/flavonols content, and total antioxidant capacity were 21.87 ± 1.80 mgEAA/g, 2.37 ± 0.16 mgEAA/g, and 6.23 ± 0.21 mgEAA/g, respectively. High scavenging activity of DPPH and ABTS radicals was found in P2 with the lower IC50 of 0.245 ± 0.009 mg/ml and 0.19 ± 0.005 mg/ml, respectively. The lower EC50 was 0.133 ± 0.036 mg/ml found in P1 for the reducing power test. The current study is considered to be the first step to the standardization of Moroccan bee pollen.

Characterization of Bee Pollen: Physico-Chemical Properties, Headspace Composition and FTIR Spectral Profiles

“…The protein content showed significant variations among the pollen samples ranging from 14.23% to 23.29% in the multifloral bee pollen, and from 14.02% in T. officinale bee pollen to 27.26% in A. hippocastanum bee pollen. The obtained data are in agreement with the results reported by Isopescu et al [ 26 ], Kostić et al [ 56 ], Barajas et al [ 57 ], Taha et al [ 58 ], and Aličić et al [ 59 ], higher than those obtained by Orzalez Villanueva [ 60 ], and lower compared to reports provided by Asmae et al [ 50 ], Estevinho et al [ 61 ], and Liolios et al [ 62 ].…”

“…The physico-chemical properties of bee pollen can be affected by processing techniques [ 44 , 45 ], as well as storage conditions [ 46 ], but the overall quality of bee pollen primarily depends on biological factors. Freshly collected bee pollen may contain 10% to 30% moisture [ 4 , 12 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 ], which is in agreement with the data obtained in this study, where the moisture content ranged from 11.30% to 26.48%. The fresh bee pollen has more important nutritional value for human use compared to dried bee pollen, which contains less than 8% of moisture [ 4 ].…”

“…However, soil type has the main influence on the mineral content of bee pollen [ 51 , 52 ]. In average, bee pollen contains 0.5–6.5% of ash [ 4 , 26 , 48 , 50 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 ]. The results obtained in the present study are in compliance with above mentioned studies, as the ash content ranged from 1.15% to 3.81%.…”

Phytochemical Profile and Antioxidant Properties of Bee-Collected Artichoke (Cynara scolymus) Pollen

“…High value for TAC can be related not only to monitored phenolics but also to the presence of vitamin C [55] which was not analyzed in the current study but can be present in pollen in significant quantities [26]. The obtained results for both fractions were significantly higher compared to bee-collected pollen (wild carrot, rosemary and eucalyptus monofloral samples and polyfloral samples) from Algeria where authors determined that TAC values were in the range from 0.072 to 0.102 mg/g GAE [56] while the result for extractable fraction was slightly higher compared to Moroccan monofloral bee-collected pollen samples-3.9 to 9.7 mg/g AAE [57]. Lipid fraction of bee-collected pollen had significantly higher TAC value compared to alkaline hydrolyzable fraction but lower compared to extractable phenolics.…”

PALYNOLOGICAL ANALYSES, CHEMICAL and MINERAL COMPOSITION OF SOME HONEYBEE POLLEN PELLETS

“…It was shown that pH was between 4.19 ± 0.17 and 4.82 ± 0.36, humidity was between 10.7 ± 0.04 and 26.8 ± 0.01, and ash content was between 1.81% ± 0.10 and 4.22 ± 0.08 for the samples. The protein content has been reported to be between 19.86 ± 0.36 mg/100 g BP, and 30.32 ± 0.12 mg/100 g BP (Asmae et al, 2021).…”