Fatty acid, mineral content and antioxidant activities of Algerian fat bee pollen

Abstract

Bee pollen is known for its nutritional value, and therefore it is used in the treatment of some health disorders as food supplements. Herein, the chemical fatty acid profile and mineral contents of two Algerian bee pollen collected from different regions were investigated, along with their physicochemical properties such as specific gravity, refractive index, and acid, saponification, and iodine values. In addition, their total phenolic contents (TPC) were also investigated. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis revealed that the bee pollens mainly contained palmitic (17.0 and 26.5 %), oleic (8.5 and 10.1 %), linoleic (15.7 and 12.6 %) and linolenic acids (27.2 and 26.3 %), respectively. The saponification values were 178.54 and 175.73 mg KOH.g^-1, while the specific gravity 0.915 and 0.924, the refractive index 1.465 and 1.464, and acid values 22.04, and 10.01 mg KOH.g^-1 oil. The iodine values were, however, 44.42 and 32.90 mg I₂.g^-1 fat, respectively. Potassium and sodium were the main detected elements in both pollen samples with variable percentages. In the DPPH assay, the IC₅₀ was 4.88 and 1.73 mg.mL^-1 for samples 1 and 2, respectively, ABTS and phosphomolybdenum assays supported DPPH assay results. It was concluded that the fat part of bee pollen by honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) is a promising source of naturally occurring antioxidants and nutrients.