Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2017, 18(5), 921; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms18050921
Chemical Composition and Biological Activities of Mono- and Heterofloral Bee Pollen of Different Geographical Origins
1
Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Ambientais e Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Recôncavo da Bahia, Cruz das Almas 44380-000, Bahia, Brazil
2
Instituto de Natureza e Cultura, Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Benjamin Constant 69630-000, Amazonas, Brazil
3
Departamento de Biologia e Biotecnologia, Escola Superior Agrária, Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Bragança 5301-855, Portugal
4
Centro de Biologia Molecular e Ambiental, Universidade do Minho, Campus de Gualtar, Braga 4710-057, Portugal
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Toshio Morikawa
Received: 27 February 2017 / Revised: 10 April 2017 / Accepted: 24 April 2017 / Published: 27 April 2017
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutraceuticals in Human Health and Disease)
Abstract
Recent research shows variations in pollen chemical constituents and, consequently, in their therapeutic properties. Mono and multifloral bee pollen extracts were investigated for antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory activity properties, phenolic compounds and fatty acid composition. Generally, Eucalyptus spp. and multifloral extracts exhibited potent inhibitory activity against α-amylase, acetylcholinesterase, tyrosinase, lipoxygenase, lipase and hyaluronidase. On the other hand, Miconia spp. demonstrated higher antihemolytic activity. Cocos nucifera and Miconia spp. extracts exhibited important antioxidant properties in the different assays (ABTS, DPPH, β-carotene/linoleic acid and reducing power). Moreover, these extracts had greater amounts of total phenols and flavonoids in comparison to others. The increase in antioxidant activity (decrease in EC50 values) was accompanied by an increase in the amount of total phenols in the extracts. The pollen extracts contained linoleic acid and α-linolenic acid as major fatty acids, followed by palmitic acid, and oleic acid. In this study, differences were observed in both chemical constituents and biological activities of the samples related to the geographical and botanical origin of bee pollen. View Full-TextKeywords:
antioxidant; enzyme inhibitory; fatty acid; phenolic content
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Araújo, J.S.; Chambó, E.D.; Costa, M.A.P.C.; Cavalcante da Silva, S.M.P.; Lopes de Carvalho, C.A.; M. Estevinho, L. Chemical Composition and Biological Activities of Mono- and Heterofloral Bee Pollen of Different Geographical Origins. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2017, 18, 921.
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