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Hive products science

Brazilian bee pollen: phenolic content, antioxidant properties and antimicrobial activity

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Pages 775-783 | Received 25 May 2017, Accepted 29 Apr 2020, Published online: 18 Nov 2020
 

Abstract

Bee pollen has been promoted as a dietary supplement for humans due to its nutritional and bioactive properties. Sixty-two samples of Apis mellifera dehydrated bee pollen collected in Brazil (eight states and Federal District) were analyzed for phenolic compounds, flavonoids, antioxidant activity using DPPH, β-carotene and ORAC methods, and antimicrobial activity. The values obtained for total phenolic compounds ranged from 12.60 to 84.22 mg GAE/g bee pollen while total flavonoids oscillated between 1.90 and 36.85 mg quercetin/g bee pollen. The IC50 ranged from 0.35 to 13.42 mg bee pollen/mL of extract. The inhibition percentages ranged from 52.58 to 98.37% of bee pollen extract using the β-carotene method. When measured by the ORAC method, antioxidant activity was between 132.98 and 575.85 μmols eq. Trolox/g bee pollen. Bee pollen efficiently inhibited the growth of all the microorganisms studied. Candida albicans was the most resistant, while Staphylococcus epidermides was the most sensitive.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP); under Grant #2009/52163-5 (thesis doctoral project) the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES); and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq).

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