Composition and Quality of Honey Bee Feed: The Methodology and Monitoring of Candy Boards.

The nutritional status of a honey bee colony is recognized as a key factor in ensuring a healthy hive. A deficient flow of nectar and pollen in the honey bee colony immediately affects its development, making room for pathogen proliferation and, consequently, for a reduction in the activities and strength of the colony. It is, therefore, urgent for the beekeepers to use more food supplements and/or substitutes in apiary management, allowing them to address colony nutritional imbalances according to the beekeeper's desired results.

Bee Venom-Loaded Niosomes as Innovative Platforms for Cancer Treatment: Development and Therapeutical Efficacy and Safety Evaluation.

Despite past efforts towards therapeutical innovation, cancer remains a highly incident and lethal disease, with current treatments lacking efficiency and leading to severe side effects. Hence, it is imperative to develop new, more efficient, and safer therapies. Bee venom has proven to have multiple and synergistic bioactivities, including antitumor effects.

Differentiating between Monofloral Portuguese Bee Pollens Using Phenolic and Volatile Profiles and Their Impact on Bioactive Properties.

Nowadays, bee products are commended by consumers for their medicinal and dietary properties. This study aimed to differentiate between monofloral bee pollens originating from Portugal using phenolic and volatile profiles and investigate their antioxidant and cytotoxic activity. Total phenolic and flavonoid compounds were recorded between 2.

Development and Characterization of High-Absorption Microencapsulated Organic Propolis EPP-AF Extract (i-CAPs).

The demand for organic and functional food continues to increase yearly. Among the available functional foods, propolis is a bee product that has various beneficial properties, including antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities. However, it generally is only available in ethanol solution, which has poor bioavailability, as it is relatively insoluble in water.

Thermal Stability and Antioxidant Activity of Bioactive Compounds in Bread Enriched with Bee Pollen and Bee Bread.

Bee pollen (BP) and bee bread (BB) are natural food sources containing a wide variety of bioactive compounds, complementing their rich nutritional composition. These bee products are being explored to empower functional foods, with the term functionality being dependent on the bioactive compounds added to the food matrix. However, there is not enough evidence of the effect of heat on these compounds during food processing and production and how it impacts their biological activity.

Improvement of the In Vitro Cytotoxic Effect on HT-29 Colon Cancer Cells by Combining 5-Fluorouacil and Fluphenazine with Green, Red or Brown Propolis.

Cancer is regard as one of the key factors of mortality and morbidity in the world. Treatment is mainly based on chemotherapeutic drugs that, when used in targeted therapies, have serious side effects. 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is a drug commonly used against colorectal cancer (CRC), despite its side effects.

Bee pollen and bee bread nutritional potential: Chemical composition and macronutrient digestibility under in vitro gastrointestinal system.

Bee pollen (BP) and bee bread (BB) have been often investigated as potential functional foods. Both bee products are generally characterized by their high nutritional content, with BB being referred as more digestible than BP, however, there is a lack of scientific studies proving this claim. Here, we present a comparative evaluation of the macronutrient digestibility of BP and BB after applying a simulated in vitro gastrointestinal digestive system, together with the evaluation of its nutritional value and chemical composition.

Evaluation of Antioxidant and Anticancer Activity of Mono- and Polyfloral Moroccan Bee Pollen by Characterizing Phenolic and Volatile Compounds.

Bee pollen is frequently characterized as a natural source of bioactive components, such as phenolic compounds, which are responsible for its pharmaceutical potential and nutritional properties. In this study, we evaluated the bioactive compound contents of mono- and polyfloral bee pollen samples using spectroscopic and chromatographic methods and established links with their antioxidant and antitumor activity. The findings demonstrated that the botanical origin of bee pollen has a remarkable impact on its phenolic (3-17 mg GAE/g) and flavonoid (0.

Analytical methods for honeybee venom characterization.

The discovery of new drugs has benefited significantly from the development of research in venomics, increasing our understanding of the envenomation processes. It has been previously reported that honeybee venom (HBV) exhibits several pharmacological activities such as anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antimutagenic, radioprotective, and anticancer activity and may inclusively act as a complementary treatment for SARS-CoV-2. It composition consists mainly on melittin, phospholipase A2, and apamin but other constituents such as hyaluronidase, mast cell degranulating peptide and secapin are also relevant for its bioactivity.

Production of chitosan-based biodegradable active films using bio-waste enriched with polyphenol propolis extract envisaging food packaging applications.

Developing biodegradable active films has been a promising green approach to overcoming global concerns over the environmental pollution and human health caused by plastic utilization. This study aimed to develop active films based on chitosan (CS), produced from waste crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) shells enriched with bioactive extract (5-20%) of propolis (PS) and to characterize its properties, envisaging food packaging applications. The chromatographic profile of PS extract confirmed its richness, with 41 phenolic compounds.

Honeybee Venom Synergistically Enhances the Cytotoxic Effect of CNS Drugs in HT-29 Colon and MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cell Lines.

5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and doxorubicin (DOX) are potent anti-tumour agents commonly used for colon and breast cancer therapy, respectively. However, their clinical application is limited by their side effects and the development of drug resistance. Honeybee venom is a complex mixture of substances that has been reported to be effective against different cancer cells.

Chemical, Cytotoxic, and Anti-Inflammatory Assessment of Honey Bee Venom from .

The venom from , the main honey bee prevailing in Morocco, has been scarcely studied, despite its known potential for pharmacological applications. In the present work, we investigated the composition, the anti-inflammatory activity, and the venom's cytotoxic properties from fifteen honey bee venom (HBV) samples collected in three regions: northeast, central, and southern Morocco. The chemical assessment of honey bee venom was performed using LC-DAD/ESI/MS, NIR spectroscopy and AAS spectroscopy.

Assessment of the In Vivo and In Vitro Release of Chemical Compounds from .

has been rapidly expanding throughout Galicia since 2012. It is causing human health risks and well-known losses in the beekeeping sector. Control methods are scarce, unspecific, and ineffective.

Assessment of Bioactive Compounds under Simulated Gastrointestinal Digestion of Bee Pollen and Bee Bread: Bioaccessibility and Antioxidant Activity.

Bee pollen and bee bread have always been regarded as excellent natural resources for application in food and pharmaceutical fields due to their rich nutrient content and diversity of bioactive compounds with health-improving properties. Extensive studies on both bee products as ingredients for a healthy diet were reported, although the data concerning their metabolization on the gastrointestinal tract is quite limited. Here, we report, at each digestive stage, the bioactive profile for both bee products, their bioaccessibility levels and the antioxidant activity evaluation.

Chemical composition, antioxidant activity, and diuretic effect of Moroccan fresh bee pollen in rats.

Aim: This study investigated the chemical composition, antioxidant activity, and diuretic effect of Moroccan aqueous extract of fresh bee pollen (AEFBP) in normal rats.

Materials And Methods: The chemical composition of the extracted bioactive compounds was assessed using liquid chromatography with diode array detection coupled to electrospray ionization (ESI) tandem mass spectrometry (LC/DAD/ESI-MS). 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and the reducing power were used to assess the antioxidant properties of the extract, together with the determination of total phenols and flavonoids.

Description of the volatile fraction of Erica honey from the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula.

Heather honey is highly appreciated by consumers for its sensorial profile, which varies depending on the flora used by the honeybees. Volatile compounds contribute to these qualities. Characterisation of the volatile profile related to the botanical origin is of great interest for the standardization of unifloral honey.

In Vitro Interactions of Moroccan Propolis Phytochemical's on Human Tumor Cell Lines and Anti-Inflammatory Properties.

Propolis is a resin manufactured by bees through the mixture of plant exudates and waxes with secreted substances from their metabolism, resulting in a complex mixture of natural substances of which quality depends on the phytogeographic and climatic conditions around the hive. The present study investigated the contribution of phenolic compounds to the cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory activities of propolis. The phenolic composition was evaluated by liquid chromatography with diode-array detection coupled to electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC/DAD/ESI-MS) analysis after phenolic extraction.

In vitro evaluation of Portuguese propolis and floral sources for antiprotozoal, antibacterial and antifungal activity.

Propolis is a beehive product with a very complex chemical composition, used since ancient times in several therapeutic treatments. As a contribution to the improvement of drugs against several tropical diseases caused by protozoa, we screened Portuguese propolis and its potential floral sources Populus x Canadensis and Cistus ladanifer against Plasmodium falciparum, Leishmania infantum, Trypanosoma brucei and Trypanosoma cruzi. The toxicity against MRC-5 fibroblast cells was evaluated to assess selectivity.

Phenolic profiling of Portuguese propolis by LC-MS spectrometry: uncommon propolis rich in flavonoid glycosides.

Introduction: Propolis is a chemically complex resinous substance collected by honeybees (Apis mellifera) from tree buds, comprising plant exudates, secreted substances from bee metabolism, pollen and waxes. Its chemical composition depends strongly on the plant sources available around the beehive, which have a direct impact in the quality and bioactivity of the propolis. Being as Portugal is a country of botanical diversity, the phenolic characterisation of propolis from the different regions is a priority.

Oleuropein/ligstroside isomers and their derivatives in Portuguese olive mill wastewaters.

Olive mill wastewaters (OMW) are a potential source of biophenols, but they have a complex composition with many unknown phenolics. The analysis of purified methanol extracts from two Portuguese OMW by electrospray mass spectrometry in the negative mode showed [M-H] ions at m/z 539 and m/z 523, corresponding respectively to oleuropein and ligstroside isomers which contain the glucose unit linked to its aromatic moiety. Also, the fragmentation pathway of the [M-H] ions at m/z 863, 685 and 847 indicated the presence of a diglucoside derivative of the oleuropein isomer and of mono- and diglucosides of the ligstroside isomer, respectively.

Phenolic characterization of Northeast Portuguese propolis: usual and unusual compounds.

In this study, an ethanolic extract from Portuguese propolis was prepared, fractionated by high-performance liquid chromatography, and the identification of the phenolic compounds was done by electrospray mass spectrometry in the negative mode. This technical approach allowed the identification of 37 phenolic compounds, which included not only the typical phenolic acids and flavonoids found in propolis from temperate zones but also several compounds in which its occurrence have never been referred to in the literature. Four of the novel phenolic compounds were methylated and/or esterified or hydroxylated derivatives of common poplar flavonoids, although six peculiar derivatives of pinocembrin/pinobanksin, containing a phenylpropanoic acid derivative moiety in their structure, were also identified.