Search Results (7)

Oral administration of dipyridamole (DIP) with acetylsalicylic acid (ACA) is recommended in thromboembolic conditions or for the treatment of myocardial infarction and stroke. The present study presents an alternative dosage form of these two active ingredients, consisting of a honey core and a dark chocolate coating. The composition masks the bitter taste, is palatable and ensures compliance of a wide range of patients, mainly pediatric. For the simultaneous quantitative determination of the analytes, a Diode Array Detector/Fluorescence Detector (HPLC-DAD/FLD) method was used with a C18 column (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) and an isocratic two-phase system (A: H₂O 0.2% formic acid—B: Acetonitrile-H₂O 90:10 v/v) 65:35 v/v. The method was validated according to ICH guidelines (r² > 0.999, RSD < 2.3%, % Recovery > 95.4%), and a stability study of the two active ingredients as well as salicylic acid (SAL), which is a hydrolysis product of ACA, was followed. Finally, a digestion protocol (oral cavity–stomach–intestine) for edible materials was applied to determine the release rate of ACA, DIP and SAL in the gastrointestinal tract, while an in vitro permeability study (P_app) was subsequently performed in Franz cells. The results show satisfactory behavior of ACA and DIP and provide a trigger for further studies of the formulation. Full article

The size of comb cells is a key factor influencing the body size of honey bee workers. Comb cells and the body size of Chinese honey bee workers are smaller than those of Italian honey bee workers. To increase the size of Chinese honey bee workers, this study used newly built combs from Chinese honey bee colonies (control group) and Italian honey bee colonies (treatment group). These combs were provided to Chinese honey bee colonies for queens to lay fertilized eggs with the aim of rearing larger workers. Workers emerging from the control and treatment combs were designated as control and treatment workers, respectively. We compared 13 external morphological traits, including right forewing length and width; linear length of veins a, b, c, and d; proboscis length; right hind femur length; tibia length; metatarsal length and width; and the longitudinal diameters of the third and fourth tergites between the two groups. The results identified six types of cell contents in the combs, excluding empty cells: capped honey (most abundant), followed by capped brood, uncapped honey, and smaller amounts of pollen, larvae, and eggs. Additionally, the average body weights of 6-day-old worker bee larvae, white-eyed pupae, adult worker bees, and honey stomachs containing sucrose solution were significantly higher in the treatment group than in the control group. Except for proboscis length, the average size of 12 out of 13 traits in the treatment group was significantly larger than in the control group, indicating that increasing cell size can produce larger Chinese honey bee workers. In the control group, only the left forewing was significantly shorter than the right, with no significant side-to-side differences in the other morphological traits. In the treatment group, the left forewing width, hind leg femur length, tibia length, and hind leg metatarsus width were significantly smaller than their right-side counterparts, while the other six traits showed no significant side-to-side differences. These findings provide a basis for using Italian honey bee combs to rear larger workers in Chinese honey bee colonies, offering beekeepers a strategy to enhance foraging capacity and improve honey production. Full article

With the aim to obtain controlled-release systems and to preserve the antioxidant, immunomodulatory, and prebiotic activity of the bioactive compounds, microencapsulation of both honeydew honey and royal jelly into biopolymeric microparticles based on rye bran heteropolysaccharides (HPS) was successfully performed. Honeydew honey and royal jelly microcapsules were prepared by spray-drying method and were characterized in terms of morphology and biological properties. Due to the resistance of the obtained encapsulates to the acidic pH in the stomach and digestive enzymes, the microcapsules showed prebiotic properties positively influencing both the growth, retardation of the dying phase, and the pro-adhesive properties of probiotic bacteria, i.e., Bifidobacterium spp. and lactic acid bacteria. Moreover, as a result of fermentation of the microcapsules of bee products in the lumen of the large intestine, an increased synthesis of short-chain fatty acids, i.e., butyric acid, was found on average by 39.2% in relation to the SCFA concentrations obtained as a result of fermentation of native bee products, thus opening new perspectives for the exploitation of honeydew honey and royal jelly loaded microcapsules for nutraceutical applications. Full article

Gastritis, one of the most common gastrointestinal disorders, damages the stomach lining as it causes a disproportion between the protective and ruinous factors of the gastric system. Cabbage (CB) is widely used to treat gastric lesions but requires the addition of natural sweeteners to counteract its distinct bitter taste. Therefore, this study sought to determine whether the combination of chestnut honey (CH)—which is known for its dark brown color and high kynurenic acid (KA) content—or KA-increased CH (KACH) with CB (CH + CB or KACH + CB) exerts synergistic effects for improving both taste and efficacy. Before confirming the gastroprotective effects in indomethacin (INDO)-induced rats, the anti-inflammatory activities of CH + CB and KACH + CB were assessed in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. As a result, treatment with either CH + CB or KACH + CB downregulated pro-inflammatory cytokine levels in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages by regulating the translocation of nuclear factor kappa B. Furthermore, both CH + CB and KACH + CB not only enhanced the levels of antioxidant enzymes but also triggered the activation of nuclear factor erythroid-related factor 2. Based on these effects, CH + CB or KACH + CB effectively protected the gastric mucosa in INDO-induced rats. Therefore, this study suggests that CH + CB and KACH + CB exert stronger gastroprotective effects when used together. Full article

Pollen stored by bees undergoes a fermentation marked by the presence of lactic acid bacteria and yeasts. It results in bee bread. Past studies have singled out Starmerella (Candida) magnoliae as the most common yeast species in honey bee-stored bee bread. Starmerella species are ecological specialists with potential biotechnological value. The rarity of recent studies on yeasts in honey bees prompted us to generate new information on yeast diversity during the conversion of bee-collected pollen to bee bread. Bees and stored pollen from two apiaries in Belgium were sampled, a yeast isolation protocol was developed, yeast isolates were grouped according to their macro- and micromorphology, and representative isolates were identified using DNA sequences. Most of the 252 identified isolates belonged to the genera Starmerella, Metschnikowia, and Zygosaccharomyces. The high abundance of yeasts in fresh bee bread decreased rapidly with the storage duration. Starmerella species dominated fresh bee bread, while mostly Zygosaccharomyces members were isolated from aged bee bread. Starmerella (Candida) apis, a rarely isolated species, was the most frequent and abundant species in fresh bee bread. Yeasts from the bee’s honey stomach and from pollen pellets obtained from bees hind legs were dominated by Metschnikowia species. The distinctive communities from pollen pellets over fresh bee bread to aged bee bread indicate a non-random distribution of these yeasts. Full article

Lactic acid bacteria could positively affect the health of honey bees, including nutritional supplementation, immune system development and pathogen colonization resistance. Based on these considerations the present study evaluated predominant Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) species from beebread as well as from the social stomach and midgut of Apis mellifera ligustica honey bee foragers. In detail, for each compartment, the diversity in species and biotypes was ascertained through multiple culture-dependent approaches, consisting of Polymerase Chain Reaction-Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE), 16S rRNA gene sequencing and Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RAPD-PCR). The study of a lactic acid bacteria community, performed with PCR-DGGE and sequence analysis targeting the V1–V3 region of the 16S rRNA gene (rDNA), highlighted the presence of a few species, including Apilactobacillus kunkeei, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, Fructobacillus fructosus, Levilactobacillus brevis and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. lactis. Depending on the different compartments, diverse levels of biodiversity in species were found. Particularly, a very low inter-species biodiversity was detected in the midgut that was prevalently dominated by the presence of Apilactobacillus kunkeei. On the other hand, the beebread was characterized by a reasonable biodiversity showing the presence of five species and the predominance of Apilactobacillus kunkeei, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum and Fructobacillus fructosus. The RAPD-PCR analysis performed on the three predominant species allowed the differentiation into several biotypes for each species. Moreover, a relationship between biotypes and compartments has been detected and each biotype was able to express a specific biochemical profile. The biotypes that populated the social stomach and midgut were able to metabolize sugars considered toxic for bees while those isolated from beebread could contribute to release useful compounds with functional properties. Based on this knowledge, new biotechnological approaches could be developed to improve the health of honey bees and the quality of bee products. Full article

The GC and GC/MS analyses of the solvent organic extractive from the stomach of the bees, having collected Mentha spp. nectar, revealed the presence of methyl syringate (6.6%), terpendiol I (5.0%) and vomifoliol (3.0%) that can be attributed to the plant origin. Other major compounds from the bee-stomach were related to the composition of cuticular waxes and less to pheromones. Organic extractivesfrom Mentha spp. honey were obtained by solvent-free headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) and ultrasonic solvent extraction (USE) and analyzed by GC and GC/MS. The major honey headspace compounds were hotrienol (31.1%–38.5%), 2-methoxy-4-methylphenol (0.5–6.0%), cis- and trans-linalool oxides (0.9–2.8%), linalool (1.0–3.1%) and neroloxide (0.9–1.9%). Methyl syringate was the most abundant compound (38.3-56.2%) in the honey solvent extractives followed by vomifoliol (7.0–26.6%). Comparison of the honey organic extractives with the corresponding bee-stomach extractive indicated that methyl syringate and vomofoliol were transferred to the honey while terpendiol I was partially transformed to hotrienol in ripened honey. Full article