Determination of botanic origins, total phenolic and flavonoid contents of bee pollen collected from the bilecik province

Abstract

Plant pollen is one of the main nutritional sources of honey bees, which has high protein content. Honey bees collect plant pollen during flower visits and bring it back to the hive. Due to its high nutritional content, bee pollen, which has many therapeutic effects, is also used as an important food supplement in human nutrition. Because of this, pollen traps are attached to the hive enterance and the pollen loads from honey bee legs are collected and provided for human consumption. The content of bee pollen varies mainly depending on botanical origin, climate, geographical characteristics, and type of bee collecting it. In this study, the total phenolic and flavonoid content of bee pollen samples, collected from 5 different regions of the Bilecik province, were determined and compared. As a result, it was found that bee pollen samples contained 19 families and 28 different plant taxa. The Fabaceae family was the most dominant, except for one region. Copyright © 2019 Business Lawyer. All rights reserved.