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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Tucson, Arizona » Carl Hayden Bee Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #214082
Title: Antioxidant Activity of Sonoran Desert Bee Pollen

Author
item Le Blanc, Blaise
item DAVIS, OWEN - UNIV. ARIZONA
item BOUE, STEPHEN - USDA-ARS-SRRC, LA
item DELUCCA, ANTHONY - USDA-ARS-SRRC, LA
item Deeby, Thomas

Submitted to: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/19/2009
Publication Date: 6/20/2009
Citation: Le Blanc, B.W., Davis, O.K., Boue, S., Delucca, A., Deeby, T.A. 2009. Antioxidant Activity of Sonoran Desert Bee Pollen. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 115, 1299-1305.

Interpretive Summary: The manuscript "Antioxidant Activity of Sonoran Desert Bee Pollen" describes the antioxidant activity of different pollen samples collected in the Sonoran Desert. The results from two antioxidant assays and an additional assay that determines the amount of phenolics, which are the antioxidant compounds, reveal that pollen collected during the more ultraviolet intense period, such as in the summer months, have higher levels of anitoxidants than samples collected during the fall season.

Technical Abstract: Bee products have been consumed by mankind since antiquity and their health benefits are becoming more apparent. Bee pollen (pollen collected by honey bees) was collected in the high intensity ultraviolet (UV) Sonoran desert and was analyzed by the anti-2,2-diphenyl-1-picryhydrazyl (DPPH) assay and the ferric reducing-antioxidant power (FRAP) assay on 6 different pollen samples and in 14 different solvents at 50 mg/mL. The bee pollen taxons were described for each pollen type. A procedure was developed for a preparative scale of pollen extraction. The standards (R-(+)-6-hydroxy-2,5,7,8-tetramethylchroman-2-carboxylic acid), known as TROLOX, gallic acid and a-tocopherol (Vitamin E) were analyzed as standards to determine the reader of the potency of the pollen samples. The pollen samples were compared and the most effective was the Wild Flower Perennial sample. The amounts of total phenolics were determinedby the Folin-Ciocalteu method, and the results are reported in milligrams of gallic acid per gram of pollen. Qualitative tests were performed on each type pollen in the most active solvents to distinguish between pollen types. There was excellent correlation between antioxidant activity and total phenolics. The order of effectiveness of the pollen samples in regard to antioxidant activity was determined and the most effective extraction solvents are discussed.