Determination of Bioactivity and Antimicrobial Activity of Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris L.) Brood Cover Wax Material

Abstract

Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris L.) is a bee species that take part in pollination. Although Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris L.) is thought to be used only in pollination but, it is not only take part in pollination. It could be used to produce different products. Brood cover wax material is a kind of bumblebee product that produced by Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris L.) in order to cover their nest. Although it is considered to be waste for human health, brood cover wax material is an important hive product with its antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. In this study, Bumblebee brood cover wax material was produced under laboratory conditions in a controlled manner. Biochemical characterization of brood cover wax material obtained from five different colonies was performed and antimicrobial ac-tivities were determined. Accordingly, it was determined that the total phenolic content of the samples ranged between 3.778 +/- 0.165 and 9.504 +/- 0.353 mg GAE/g. In addition, it was observed that the samples were rich in p-coumaric acid, luteolin, quercetin, t-sinnamic acid, chrysin and pinocembrin components. Obtained results showed that brood cover wax material, which also possessed antimicrobial activity, had nearly equivalent activity to Apis mellifera L. beehive products such as honey, pollen and bee bread. The data obtained could be concluded that brood cover wax material could be used an alternative product for human health applications.