Searching for Differences in Chemical Composition and Biological Activity of Crude Drone Brood and Royal Jelly Useful for Their Authentication

Abstract

Drone brood is a little-known bee product which is frequently considered as a male equivalent of royal jelly and is sometimes used as its adulterant. The aim of the study was to compare the chemical composition and biological activity of both bee products originated from the same apiaries (n = 3) limiting the influence of genetic and environmental factors. Moreover, for drone brood study covered testing three stages of larval development (days 7, 11, and 14). The comparison included mineral composition (ICP-OES method), protein content and protein profile (SDS-PAGE), testosterone and estradiol content (ELISA tests). HPTLC method was used to analyze of sugar, amino acids, and polyphenolic profile of drone brood and royal jelly. Moreover, their antioxidant and enzymatic properties were compared. A lot of similarities between drone brood and royal jelly were found in terms of chemical components. However, drone brood was more abundant in iron and manganese, reducing sugars and some amino acids, especially proline, tyrosine, and leucine. It contained more testosterone (especially on the 14th day) and estradiol (on the 7th day). The greatest differences in the enzymatic activities and polyphenolic profile were found. Diastase and α-glucosidase activity were found as specific enzymes of the drone brood. Similarly, ferulic and ellagic acids were characteristic for brood and were not present in royal jelly. The study showed a lot of similar features for both tested bee products, however, some specific markers which can serve to differentiate drone brood and royal jelly were found.

Royal Jelly as a Nutraceutical Natural Product with a Focus on Its Antibacterial Activity

“…This natural product's pharmacological properties have been widely investigated from animal models to human [1]. It is a white to yellowish viscous bee product with a sharply strong odor and taste [2], secreted by the mandibular and hypopharyngeal glands of worker honeybees [3]. It represents an exclusive form of nourishment for the queen honeybee during its lifetime and also it is fed to all larvae in the first three days of their maturation [2,4].…”

Editorial to Special Issue—Composition and Biological Properties of Bee Products

“…Only one article was focused on the effect of heavy metals, pesticides, and antibiotic residues on the quality of honey [ 5 ], and only one article had the honey of the African stingless bee Meliponula ferruginea as its study objective [ 6 ]. Bee pollen [ 7 , 8 ], cerumen [ 6 ], royal jelly and drone brood [ 9 ], and propolis [ 6 , 10 ] were also addressed and, once again, with studies focusing on the biological properties [ 6 , 8 , 9 , 10 ].…”

“…Drone brood (DB) is collected from beehives as young male larvae, usually between days 4 and 14 of development. DB and royal jelly (RJ) are both yellow, and the former is sometimes used to counterfeit RJ since it can be easily obtained and in larger quantities than RJ [ 9 ]. For the first time, the authors [ 9 ] conducted a detailed study on the chemical composition of DB at various stages of development and RJ that originated from the same apiaries for comparison.…”

“…DB and royal jelly (RJ) are both yellow, and the former is sometimes used to counterfeit RJ since it can be easily obtained and in larger quantities than RJ [ 9 ]. For the first time, the authors [ 9 ] conducted a detailed study on the chemical composition of DB at various stages of development and RJ that originated from the same apiaries for comparison. This approach would permit finding the specific markers for RJ and DB in order to distinguish them.…”

“…It also contained more testosterone on the 14th day and estradiol on the 7th day than RJ. Since RJ is poorer in hormonal activity than DB, this could be a way to detect the adulteration of RJ with DB [ 9 ].…”