Studies on the Composition and Biological Activity of Bee Pollen from Sivas Province

Abstract

Bee pollen is an important nutrient for bees, especially for meeting the needs of adult and larval bees in terms of protein, vitamins, and minerals. Since the protein content of pollen meets the essential protein requirements for bees' nutrition, it should be collected in sufficient quantities for the hive and stored under appropriate conditions. Similarly, bee pollen has nourishing and therapeutic properties for human health. Various studies have been conducted in different countries to evaluate the physicochemical properties and determine the physicochemical composition of bee pollen, which is widely used in apitherapy, the pharmaceutical industry, the food industry, and the cosmetics industry. However, it has been observed that bee pollens obtained from hives can differ in terms of physical properties such as color and odor, as well as content profiles such as ash, moisture, cellulose, protein, sugar, carbohydrate, fat, vitamins, and minerals, depending on the climate, and floral structure conditions of the beekeeping region. Additionally, it has been found that the biological activity characteristics of bee pollen, as determined by various in vitro and in vivo studies, can also vary based on its content values. In this study, bee pollen samples were collected from certain districts of Sivas Province. The aim was to investigate the physical characteristics of the pollen samples, such as color properties, and to investigate their chemical contents like cellulose amounts, and their biological activity features, such as antioxidant activity. According to the results of the study, it was determined that bee pollens collected from different districts within Sivas Province showed differences both in terms of content and antioxidant activity.