Çanakkale bee pollen: diversity, chemical composition, antioxidant and antibacterial properties

Abstract

Çanakkale, Turkey, which straddles the continents of Europe and Asia, is a settlement centre with natural beauty divided by the Dardanelles Strait. This study determined the diversity, chemical composition, total antioxidant activity and antibacterial activity of fresh bee pollen obtained from 11 stations in Çanakkale in April–May 2017. The Louveaux (1978) method was modified and used to determine the botanical origin of pollen samples. It was determined that the most prevalent families in the pollen samples were Brassicaceae (23.1%), Cistaceae (22.5%), Rosaceae (11.06%), Papaveraceae (5.36%), Oleaceae (7.52%) and Fabaceae (7.31%). A maximum of 47 and a minimum of 31 components were detected in the chemical composition of bee pollen extracts (BPE) by Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), and it was determined that the main components varied depending on the location. Regarding the total antioxidant capacity of BPE, 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) reduction was 100% for all locations except Yenice. Also, the antibacterial activity of BPE against Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213 could not be determined. These findings showed high bee pollen diversity, chemical composition, and antioxidant capacity in the Çanakkale region. The bee pollen from this area is a natural product that can be used as a food supplement.

Keywords:

• Melissopalynological analysis
• GC-MS
• biological activity
• Türkiye

Acknowledgements

This study is derived from Mesut Can Topal’s master’s thesis. Information on the pollen determination of bee pollen in Gökçeada, Lapseki, Biga, Eceabat, Ezine and Çanakkale city centres was orally presented as a summary text at ‘The VIII International Symposium on Ecology and Environmental Problems’ held in Çanakkale, Turkey, on 4–7 October 2017. We thank the Çanakkale Beekeepers Association and beekeepers for their help in providing bee pollen, Focus Kimya for providing the Pantone Fashion + Home colour catalogue and Serhat Karabiçak and Oktay Biyiklioğlu for their support with the chemical composition, antioxidant and antibacterial analyses.

Author contributions

Hanife Akyalçın: Project management, laboratory analysis, article writing and editing. Mesut Can Topal: Laboratory analysis, article writing and editing.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author (HA), upon reasonable request.

Disclosure statement

The authors reported no potential conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

Pollen identification for this project was supported by Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University Scientific Research Foundation (Project No: FYL-2017-1115).