Nutrient Composition of Bee Brood and its Potential as Human Food

Abstract

Bee brood serves as a food source to humans in many countries although limited data exists concerning its nutrient composition. Bee brood (pupae and larvae) were analyzed for moisture, protein, fat, ash, fiber, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids, and vitamins. Bee brood was high in protein, fat, and carbohydrate. While low in calcium, bee brood was a good source of phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, and the trace minerals iron, zinc, copper, and selenium. In addition, bee brood was a good source of essential amino acids with methionine being first limiting. While bee brood contained none of the fat soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, and E) it was a good source of most of the B-vitamins as well as vitamin C and choline. The fat was composed mostly of saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids with only 2.0% being polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Keywords:

• bee brood
• mineral
• vitamin
• amino acid