Stefan Bogdanov

Honey for nutrition and health: a review.

Due to the variation of botanical origin honey differs in appearance, sensory perception and composition. The main nutritional and health relevant components are carbohydrates, mainly fructose and glucose but also about 25 different oligosaccharides. Although honey is a high carbohydrate food, its glycemic index varies within a wide range from 32 to 85, depending on the botanical source. It contains small amounts of proteins, enzymes, amino acids, minerals, trace elements, vitamins, aroma compounds and polyphenols. The review covers the composition, the nutritional contribution of its components, its physiological and nutritional effects. It shows that honey has a variety of positive nutritional and health effects, if consumed at higher doses of 50 to 80 g per intake.

Chemical Composition of European Propolis: Expected and Unexpected Results

Ten propolis samples from Bulgaria, Italy and Switzerland were analyzed by GC-MS. As expected, most samples displayed the typical chemical pattern of “poplar” propolis: they contained pinocembrin, pinobanksin and its 3-O-acetate, chrysin, galangin, prenyl esters of caffeic and ferulic acids. Two samples differed significantly: one from the Graubünden Alpine region, Switzerland, rich in phenolic glycerides, and one from Sicily which contained only a limited number of phenolics and was rich in diterpenic acids.

Pollen composition and standardisation of analytical methods

Summary Honey bee pollen is considered to be a food, and national pollen standards exist in different countries such as Brazil, Bulgaria, Poland and Switzerland. It is the aim of the present work to review pollen composition and the analytical methods used for the evaluation of high quality bee pollen. Based on the experience of different countries and on the results of published research, we propose quality criteria for bee pollen, hoping that in the future they will be used as world wide bee pollen standards.

Minerals in honey : environmental, geographical and botanical aspects

Summary Honey usually contains a variety of mineral substances. Ninety five samples of known geographic and botanic origin were analyzed in order to detect possible contamination by common air pollution or other pathways. It was found that most elements correlate significantly with electrical conductivity. The contamination level of the toxic elements Pb and Cd measured in our study was low. There were differences between the honeys produced in the different areas only with regard to Fe and Cr content. The concentrations of the other trace elements measured in the present study, Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Mn and Fe, were similar to the values found in other recent studies. All of the trace elements determined in this work can be both from natural sources (soil, plants) and anthropogenic sources. Pb, Cd, and Zn especially, but also Cu, Cr, and Ni, are well known as potential air or soil contaminants of anthropogenic origin, but are of course also found as natural ingredients of soil minerals, as are also Fe and Mn. Variation in trace element content in different honey types is primarily due to botanical origin rather than geographical and environmental exposition of nectar sources.

ACARICIDE RESIDUES IN SOME BEE PRODUCTS

SUMMARYIn Switzerland the acaricides Folbex VA (bromopropylate, BP), Perizin (coumaphos, CM), Apistan (fluvalinate, FV) Bayvarol (flumethrin, FM) are used for varroa control. We studied the contamination level of BP, CM and FV in brood and honey combs, sugar feed and honey after field trials. In samples of recycled pure beeswax and propolis, gathered by beekeepers, we examined the level of all four acaricides. All samples were analysed by gas chromatography with ECD detection. After one normal acaricide treatment in autumn the brood comb was contaminated by BP, CM and FV with residues ranging from 1.8 to 48 mg/kg. The residue level in the honeycomb wax was on average 5 to 10 times lower than in the brood combs. The residues in the combs increased with increasing number (Folbex) or longer duration of treatment (Apistan). The residues in the sugar feed and honey were much lower than in the combs and were all below the Swiss MRL (maximum residue limit). In a laboratory experiment we examined the behaviour of...

Honey quality and international regulatory standards: review by the International Honey Commission

International honey standards are specified in a European Honey Directive and in the Codex Alimentarius Standard for Honey, both of which are presently under revision. In this article, present knowledge on the different quality criteria is reviewed. The standard drafts include standards and methods for the determination of the following quality factors: moisture, ash, acidity, HMF, apparent reducing sugars, apparent sucrose, diastase activity and water-insoluble matter. International honey standards for fructose/glucose content, the sucrose content and electrical conductivity are proposed. Also the use of other quality factors, such as invertase activity, proline and specific rotation, used in many countries, is also discussed.

Quality and standardisation of Royal Jelly

Departamento de Alimentos e Nutricao Experimental, Faculdade de Ciencias Farmaceuticas da Universidade de Sao Paulo (USP), Sao Paulo, Brazil. Received 26 June 2008, accepted subject to revision 18 August 2008, accepted for publication November 2008. *Corresponding author: Email: annagloria.sabatini@entecra.it

Chemical characteristics of poplar type propolis of different geographic origin

Validated spectrophotometric procedures were used to quantify three main groups of bioactive substances (phenolics, flavones/flavonols, flavanones/dihydroflavonols) in 114 samples of poplar-type propolis from different geographic origins. From the results, we characterized raw poplar propolis in terms of minimum content of its bioactive components (antimicrobial and antioxidant) as follows: 45% resin, 21 % total phenolics, 4% total flavones/flavonols; 4% total flavanones/dihydroflavonols, and a maximum Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) against S. aureus of 250 μg/mL. A significant negative correlation was observed between the amount of total phenolics and MIC. The results indicate that measuring the concentrations of groups of active compounds, rather than individual components, is an appropriate approach in developing quality standards for propolis.ZusammenfassungZiel dieser Arbeit ist, die typischen Eigenschaften von Pappel-Rohpropolis bezüglich des Gehalts an bioaktiven Komponenten (antimikrobiell und antioxidant) zu bestimmen. Hierzu wurden validierte spektrophotometrische Verfahren für die Quantifizierung der drei Hauptgruppen bioaktiver Substanzen (Phenole, Flavone/Flavonole, Flavanole/Dihydroflavonole) an 114 Proben unterschiedlicher geografischer Herkunft durchgeführt. Weiter wurde die Menge von Balsam (Extrakt mit 70 % Ethanol) und die minimale Hemmkonzentration (MIC) gegen Streptococcus aureus gemessen. Die Messwerte für diese Charakterisierungen sind in Tabelle I. aufgeführt. Obwohl die chemische Zusammensetzung von Pappelknospenexudaten verhältnismäßig konstant ist, könnte es signifikante Abweichungen in dem Prozentsatz der einzelnen Komponenten an unterschiedlichen Orten geben (Abb. 1). Die Messwerte waren nicht normal verteilt, daher empfehlen wir die empirischen 20 % Quantile zur Festsetzung des minimalen Balsamgehaltes und des Gehaltes an biologisch aktiven Komponenten, sowie des 80 % Quantils für MIC. Hieraus ergibt sich für die Minimalgehalte im Einzelnen: Balsam 45 %, Phenole insgesamt 21 % (im Rohpropolis), Flavone und Flavonole 4 % (im Rohpropolis), Flavanone und Dihydroflavonole 4 % (im Rohpropolis), und für MIC gegenüber Staphylococcus aureus ein Maximum von 250 μg/mL (im Trockenbalsam). Durch eine ANOVA konnte gezeigt werden, dass große Höhen sowie nördliche Breiten einen Einfluss auf den Gehalt an biologisch aktiven Substanzen haben, die Konzentrationen sind hier etwas niedriger. Allerdings ist dieser Einfluss von geringer Bedeutung, da er die biologische Aktivität der Proben nicht signifikant beeinflusste. Eine weitere wichtige Beobachtung war ein negativer Zusammenhang zwischen der Konzentration der Gesamtphenole im Propolisbalsam und MIC (P = 0,003). Bisher war ein solcher Zusammenhang nicht statistisch belegt. Die Ergebnisse sind für die Standardisierung von Propolis von besonderem Interesse. Sie unterstützen unser Konzept einer Vörgehensweise der Erfassung ganzer Gruppen bioaktiver Substanzen anstelle von Einzelkomponenten. Unsere Ergebnisse deuten weiter darauf hin, dass die Messung von MIC auf Grund der komplexen synergistischen Effekte der verschiedenen Propoliskonstituenten ein obligatorisches Element der Qualitätskontrolle sein sollte. Weiter ist wichtig daran zu erinnern, dass verschieden Propolistypen unterschiedliche chemische Zusammensetzung haben und die gezogenen Schlussfolgerungen daher nur für Pappelpropolis gelten und keinesfalls auf andere Propolissorten übertragbar sind.

What is the future of Bee-Pollen?

Maria Graça R. Campos, Christian Frigerio, Joana Lopes and Stefan Bogdanov 1 Centre of Pharmaceutical Studies, Laboratory of Pharmacognosy and Phytotherapy, Faculty of Pharmacy – R. do Norte University of Coimbra, 3000-295 Coimbra, Portugal 2 REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química-Física, Faculdade de Farmacía, Universidade do Porto, Rua Aníbal Cunha 164, Porto 4050-047, Portugal 3 Bee Products Science, 3127 Mühlethurnen, Switzerland

Beeswax: quality issues today

This article concentrates on the main quality issues of Apis mellifera beeswax: production by bees and processing by beekeepers and manufacturers, overall chemical composition, as well as sensory and physicochemical characteristics. The main quality issues today are adulteration and contamination. Contamination from the environment being relatively small, the main contaminants are synthetic and persistent acaricides used in beekeeping. Measures for prevention of contamination are discussed. Information on beeswax economy, as well as on beeswax uses is given.