Enhancement of the Antioxidant Capacity of Thyme and Chestnut Honey by Addition of Bee Products.

Honey consumption and imports have increased in recent years, and it is considered by consumers to be a healthy alternative to more commonly used sweeteners. Honey contains a mixture of polyphenols and antioxidant compounds, and the botanical origin and geographical area of collection play an important role on its chemical composition. The present study investigated the physicochemical properties, total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity of Spanish thyme honey and chestnut honey, and their mixtures with royal jelly (2% and 10%) and propolis (2% and 10%).

Differentiation of bee pollen samples according to the betaines and other quaternary ammonium related compounds content by using a canonical discriminant analysis.

In the last years, an increase has been observed in the adulteration of bee pollen. Consequently, different tools are required to authenticate the origin of this product, such as a study of the profile and composition of a specific family of compounds. The present study investigates the potential of betaines and related compounds as markers of the apiary of origin and harvest period of 71 bee pollen samples.

Effects of Thiamethoxam-Dressed Oilseed Rape Seeds and on Colonies of , L. under Field Conditions of Central Spain. Is Hormesis Playing a Role?

To study the influence of thiamethoxam exposure on colony strength and pathogen prevalence, an apiary (5 colonies) was placed in front of a plot sown with winter oilseed rape (wOSR), just before the flowering phase. Before sowing, the seeds were treated with an equivalent application of 18 g thiamethoxam/ha. For comparison, a second apiary (5 colonies) was located in front of a separate 750 m plot sown with untreated wOSR.

CSI Pollen: Diversity of Honey Bee Collected Pollen Studied by Citizen Scientists.

A diverse supply of pollen is an important factor for honey bee health, but information about the pollen diversity available to colonies at the landscape scale is largely missing. In this COLOSS study, beekeeper citizen scientists sampled and analyzed the diversity of pollen collected by honey bee colonies. As a simple measure of diversity, beekeepers determined the number of colors found in pollen samples that were collected in a coordinated and standardized way.

Viper's bugloss (Echium spp.) honey typing and establishing the pollen threshold for monofloral honey.

Honey samples (n = 126) from Castilla-La Mancha (Central Spain) were characterized based on their physicochemical properties and a melissopalynological analysis. The latter showed that Echium pollen type was the dominant palynomorph in most samples, representing at least 30% of the pollen in each sample. As anticipated, a relationship was observed between the proportion of this pollen and the properties of the honey.

How soil type (gypsum or limestone) influences the properties and composition of thyme honey.

Background And Aims: The objective of this work was to determine the influence of the soil substrate on the characteristics and properties of a specific type of honey. As such, we analysed the features of a typical single-flower honey, thyme honey, produced in a specific Mediterranean region. is a genus of aromatic perennial plants that are native to Europe, North Africa and Asia.

Holistic screening of collapsing honey bee colonies in Spain: a case study.

Background: Here we present a holistic screening of collapsing colonies from three professional apiaries in Spain. Colonies with typical honey bee depopulation symptoms were selected for multiple possible factors to reveal the causes of collapse.

Results: Omnipresent were Nosema ceranae and Lake Sinai Virus.

Antioxidant, antibacterial and ACE-inhibitory activity of four monofloral honeys in relation to their chemical composition.

Different monofloral honeys from Castilla-La Mancha (Spain) have been studied in order to determine their main functional and biological properties. Thyme honey and chestnut honey possess the highest antioxidant capacity, which is due to their high vitamin C (in thyme honey) and total polyphenolic content (in chestnut honey). On the other hand, chestnut honey showed high antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, whilst others had no activity against S.

Vitamin C and sugar levels as simple markers for discriminating Spanish honey sources.

Unlabelled: In this work, 7 Spanish honeys with different botanical origins were studied. The honey origins were rosemary, chestnut, lavender, echium, thyme, multifloral, and honeydew. The chemical compounds determined were ascorbic acid (vitamin C), hydroxymethylfurfural, and major sugar contents (glucose and fructose).

A preliminary study of the epidemiological factors related to honey bee colony loss in Spain.

In recent years, a worldwide decline in the Apis mellifera populations has been detected in many regions, including Spain. This decline is thought to be related to the effects of pathogens or pesticides, although to what extent these factors are implicated is still not clear. In this study, we estimated the prevalence of honey bee colony depopulation symptoms in a random selected sample (n = 61) and we explored the implication of different pathogens, pesticides and the flora visited in the area under study.

Honeybee colony collapse due to Nosema ceranae in professional apiaries.

Honeybee colony collapse is a sanitary and ecological worldwide problem. The features of this syndrome are an unexplained disappearance of adult bees, a lack of brood attention, reduced colony strength, and heavy winter mortality without any previous evident pathological disturbances. To date there has not been a consensus about its origins.

How natural infection by Nosema ceranae causes honeybee colony collapse.

In recent years, honeybees (Apis mellifera) have been strangely disappearing from their hives, and strong colonies have suddenly become weak and died. The precise aetiology underlying the disappearance of the bees remains a mystery. However, during the same period, Nosema ceranae, a microsporidium of the Asian bee Apis cerana, seems to have colonized A.