Comparison of The Bioactive Content and Antioxidant Capacity of Bee Bread Samples from Different Beehives

Abstract

Bee bread has recently gained a lot of attention as a nutritional supplement among bee products due to its functional properties. However, the bioactive composition of bee bread varies depending on many different variables. The aim of this study was therefore to characterize the bioactive ingredients of 12 different bee bread samples originating from the same apiary but from different hives and to evaluate the differences between them. For this purpose, the samples of bee bread were analyzed for total phenolic content, total flavonoid content and antioxidant activity. The analysis revealed that the bee bread samples contained total phenolics in the range of 8.4 ± 0.61 to 26.38 ± 1.83 mg GAE/g, whereas their total flavonoid levels ranged between 0.53 ± 0.04 and 6.90 ± 0.67 mg QE/g. In addition, antioxidant activity values were found to vary from 1.41 ± 0.07 to 7.01 ± 0.14 mg TE/g. According to the results, the bioactive potential of the bee bread samples supports the possible use of this product both as a functional food and in various industrial fields.