Abstract Like other beehive products, such as honey, royal jelly and propolis, bee pollen has attracted great interest because of the health benefits it can provide when consumed. Bee pollen has high contents of sugars and proteins and a low content of lipids, it is also a rich source of vitamins and other bioactive compounds, which makes it an attractive micronutrient supplement. However, few studies have investigated its composition. Therefore, the aim of this study was to characterize the essential minerals and inorganic contaminants present in bee pollen produced at apiaries in Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES) revealed the presence of 8 essential minerals (calcium, iron, copper, chromium, manganese, molybdenum, phosphorus and zinc) in the 5 analyzed samples; 6 of them were in sufficiently high amounts to meet dietary requirements. Of the 5 inorganic contaminants assessed (barium, cadmium, lithium, lead and vanadium), only cadmium was present at levels over the International Honey Commission’s standards. All bee pollen samples showed a high content of the 8 essential minerals. Contamination usually results from the use of pesticides, fertilizers and other chemicals in agriculture; thus, monitoring of its levels must be included in bee pollen analysis.

A própolis é uma substância resinosa coletada de diversas partes das plantas por abelhas e misturada à cera, pólen e secreções salivares. Sua composição é complexa e está relacionada, principalmente, às características da vegetação de cada região. Trinta e três amostras de própolis foram coletadas em quatro regiões brasileiras (Nordeste, Sudeste, Sul e Centro-Oeste) e analisadas quanto à sua capacidade antioxidante, pela oxidação acoplada do sistema β-caroteno/ácido linoleico. Variação significativa na capacidade antioxidante (51,33-92,70%) foi observada de acordo com a região onde a amostra foi coletada. A capacidade antioxidante das amostras de própolis da região Nordeste foi menor que a das amostras das regiões Centro-Oeste, Sul e Sudeste, respectivamente.

Propolis is a resinous substance collected by bees from many parts of plants and mixed with wax, pollen and salivary secretions. Its composition is complex and closely related to the vegetation features of each region. Thirty-three propolis samples were collected from four Brazilian regions (Northeast, Southeast, South and Central-West) and had their antioxidant activity analyzed by the connected oxidation of b-carotene/linoleic acid. A significant variation was observed for the antioxidant activity (51.33-92.70%), according to the region where the sample was collected. The antioxidant activity of propolis samples collected in the Northeast region was lower than those collected in the Central-West, South and Southeast regions, respectively.

Fourier transform infrared attenuated total reflectance (FT-IR ATR) spectroscopy was used to determine 14 different measurands in northeast Brazilian honey samples. Nine different honey samples (six monofloral and three polyfloral) from 2009 obtained from the company CEARAPI underwent FT-IR ATR, palynological, color, and sensorial analysis to obtain preliminary results for these types of honey. The results showed that there are five monofloral, three bifloral, and one extrafloral honey, and also that mid-infrared spectrometry can be used as a screening method for the routine analysis of Brazilian honey, with the advantages of being rapid, nondestructive, and accurate.

O teor de umidade do pólen apícola constitui um parâmetro de qualidade para este produto. Alguns países como Argentina, Brasil, Bulgária, Polônia e Suíça têm legislação específica quanto aos parâmetros de qualidade do pólen apícola, mas não são claras quanto à recomendação do método a ser utilizado na determinação de umidade. O objetivo deste trabalho foi comparar seis métodos de determinação de umidade do pólen apícola desidratado. Os métodos utilizados foram: estufa convencional a 100 °C, estufa a vácuo a 70 °C, dessecador com ácido sulfúrico, secagem por radiação infravermelha, liofilização e Karl Fisher. De acordo com os resultados obtidos, os melhores métodos para determinação de umidade do pólen apícola foram a secagem por radiação infravermelha e a liofilização, os quais apresentaram menores valores de umidade.

Bee pollen moisture value is one of the quality parameters for this product. Some countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Poland and Switzerland have bee pollen regulations on quality parameters, but these are not clear regarding which method should be used for moisture determination. The aim of this paper was to compare six methods of moisture determination in dried bee pollen samples. The methods were: conventional oven at 100 °C, vacuum oven at 70 °C, desiccator with sulfuric acid, drying out process with infrared light at 85 °C, lyophilization and Karl Fisher's method. Based on the results, the best methods for moisture determination of bee pollen were the drying process with infrared and the lyophilization, since these have shown lower moisture values.

This study evaluated the stability of vitamins C, E and β-carotene in six samples of bee pollen after their process, and in a one-year period of storage. After the pollen's process, there was a 67.1% increase for vitamin C (p <0.05), an 18.7% loss for vitamin E and 15.6% for β-carotene. Storage in freezer was the most efficient condition for the vitamins conservation; the loss in storage at room temperature (exposed or protected from light) was similar. Vitamin E appears to be better preserved during storage when compared to vitamin C and β-carotene.

Complex B vitamins are present in some cereal foods and the ingestion of enriched products contributes to the recommended dietary intake of these micronutrients. To adapt the label of some products, it is necessary to develop and validate the analytical methods. These methods must be reliable and with enough sensitivity to analyze complex B vitamins naturally present in food at low concentration. The purpose of this work is to evaluate, with validated methods, the content of vitamins B1, B2, B6 and niacin in five cereal flours used in food industry (oat, rice, barley, corn and wheat).

Stingless bees produce a honey that is different from the Apis honey in terms of composition. There aren't enough data to establish quality control parameters for this product, mainly due to lack of research results. The aim of this work is to evaluate some physicochemical parameters that can be used for the characterization and for the quality control of the Meliponinae honey. Four different samples were collected in the Amazon region of Brazil in 2004 (Melipona compressipes manaoense bee and Melipona seminigra merribae bee). Honey analyses were performed as described by the official methods. The mean results were: moisture (30.13%), pH (3.65), acidity (24.57 mEq/kg), water activity (0.75), fructose (31.91%), glucose (29.30%) and sucrose (0.19%). These results reinforce the need for a specific regulation for stingless bee honey. This will only be feasible when enough data is available to establish upper and lower limits for the physicochemical parameters used for quality control.

A análise do ácido pantotênico em alimentos é realizada de forma rotineira através do método microbiológico, o qual é trabalhoso e demorado. A cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência (CLAE ou HPLC) tem se mostrado um método alternativo para a análise de vitaminas em alimentos. Neste trabalho foram analisadas amostras de fórmulas infantis em pó pelos dois métodos e os resultados médios foram comparados. Através de análise estatística dos resultados observou-se que os dois métodos apresentaram-se equivalentes.

The analysis of pantothenic acid in foods is routinely performed by microbiological methods, which are very tedious and take too long time of well-trained and experienced analyst. The high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is an alternative technique for vitamin analysis in foods. In this paper infant formulae were analyzed by HPLC and microbiological methods and the average results obtained were compared statistically. The difference between the two methods showed no statistical difference.

The physicochemical composition of pure royal jelly as well as of some adulterated samples was analyzed by determining moisture, ash, lipids, nitrogen/proteins, carbohydrates, starch and 10- HDA (10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid). The solubility in alkaline medium was used to detect the main frauds for adulterating royal jelly which comprise addition of yogurt, water, egg white, sweet condensed milk mixed with propolis, unripe banana and corn starch slurry.

O mel contém principalmente açúcares em alta concentração, provenientes do néctar das flores, e a própolis é coletada principalmente das folhas, brotos, exsudatos e resinas das mais variadas espécies botânicas. Tanto a composição química do mel quanto a da própolis podem variar conforme uma série de fatores, que podem estar direta ou indiretamente relacionados com as abelhas e o meio em que vivem. No entanto, esse produto pode sofrer adulterações e/ou problemas relacionados à qualidade ou adição de ingredientes de baixo valor comercial. Na tentativa de detectar esse problema, este trabalho teve como objetivo realizar um estudo de algumas características físico-químicas do mel com própolis, com o intuito de verificar possíveis alterações ou adulterações em amostras comerciais do Estado de São Paulo. Foram adquiridas onze amostras comerciais de mel com própolis e realizadas as análises: umidade, HMF, açúcares redutores, sacarose aparente, proteínas, reações de Fiehe, Lugol e Lund. Os resultados obtidos nas análises das amostras indicaram que todas elas continham mel verdadeiro e que não houve indícios de adulteração do produto com água, amido ou açúcar comercial.

Honey mainly consists of sugars at high concentrations from the nectar of flowers and propolis is formed from plant secretions. The chemical composition of honey and propolis can vary according to some factors, which can be directly or indirectly related with bees and the environment. However, this product can experience adulterations and/or problems related to the quality control or addition of ingredients of lower commercial value. In the attempt to detect this problem, the aim of this work is to verify possible alterations or adulterations in eleven commercial samples of honey added with propolis from São Paulo State, using some physicochemical analysis: moisture, HMF, reducing sugars, apparent sucrose, proteins, Fiehe, Lugol and Lund reactions. The results indicated that all the samples contain real honey and there is no indication of adulteration with water, starch or commercial sugar.

The results suggest that the two variables studied are significant and that they may be independently optimized. The material of the sample holder interferes with the incineration process only due to the amount of heat transfered. The sample holder volume aids diffusion of the atmosphere to the honey sample, minimizing the foaming effect. According to the results, for the thermogravimetric analysis of ash content in honey, sample holders of platinum or alumina of 150 µL are indicated.

A geléia real (GR) é utilizada como produto revitalizante com sabor ácido e adstringente. Para evitar rejeição a este sabor, existem misturas de mel com GR. Existe legislação específica para o mel e para a GR separadamente, mas não para a mistura. Os objetivos do trabalho são: verificar se os métodos usados para o controle de qualidade do mel puro podem ser utilizados no controle do mel com GR e verificar a presença de GR pela determinação do 10-HDA. As análises incluíram: umidade, açúcares redutores, sacarose aparente, cinzas, hydroxymethylfurfural, sólidos insolúveis, atividade diastásica, acidez e 10-HDA. As amostras foram preparadas com 0-100% de GR no mel. Os resultados obtidos sugerem que dos métodos citados na legislação do mel somente o de cinzas foi adequado para todas as amostras. A análise de acidez (titulação direta) foi adequada de 0-30%GR; açúcares redutores 0-20%GR; umidade (método refratométrico) 0-10%GR e sugere-se o método de secagem por IV para as demais amostras. Os métodos para as análises da atividade diastásica, HMF, sacarose aparente e sólidos insolúveis foram inadequados para as amostras com GR. A presença de GR nas amostras foi comprovada pela análise do 10-HDA.

Royal jelly (RJ) is used as a revitalizing tonic. In order to avoid rejection to its acid taste, it is added to honey. There are regulations for honey and for royal jelly separately but not for the mixture. The objective of this work is, therefore, to verify if the same methods used for pure honey quality control can be used for honey mixed with royal jelly and also the presence of RJ through 10-HDA determination. The methods used were: moisture, reducing sugars, apparent sucrose, ash, hydroxymethylfurfural, insoluble solids, diastase activity, acidity and 10-HDA. Samples were prepared by adding 0-100% of RJ in honey. The results showed that the ash method was the only suitable one to all the samples. The acidity analysis (direct titration) was suitable to 0-30%RJ samples; the reducing sugar analysis was suitable to 0-20% RJ samples. Concerning moisture analysis the refractometric method is suitable to 0-10% RJ and the Infra Red method is suggested to be used for samples with more than 10% RJ. The methods for diastase activity, HMF, apparent sucrose and insoluble solids were inadequate for all samples with RJ. The presence of RJ in the samples was confirmed by the 10-HDA analyses.

Foi analisado o conteúdo de 10-HDA em amostras de geléia real (GR) do Estado de São Paulo, Brasil, utilizando-se o método de cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência baseado no trabalho de BLOODWORTH et al. [2]. As condições cromatográficas foram: sistema isocrático, coluna C18-H de fase-reversa, injetor automático, detector de arranjos de foto-diodo ajustado a 225nm, fase móvel composta de metanol/água (45:55) com pH = 2,5 ajustado com ácido fosfórico, a-naftol como padrão interno e tempo de corrida de 30min. Pela análise estatística dos resultados, os teores de 10-HDA das amostras analisadas apresentaram duas faixas principais: de 1,8% e de 3% (p/p), o que seria útil para classificar a GR. Este é o primeiro trabalho que contém dados sobre o teor de 10-HDA em amostras de GR brasileira.

The 10-HDA content in Brazilian samples (São Paulo State) of royal jelly (RJ) was analyzed using an HPLC method based on the work by BLOODWORTH et al. [2]. The chromatographic conditions were: isocratic system, reversed phase C18-H column, auto sampler, diode array UV-VIS detector adjusted to 225nm, mobile phase composed by methanol/water (45:55) at pH= 2.5 adjusted with phosphoric acid; a-naphtol was used as internal standard, and the running time was 30min. By statistical analysis of the results, the 10-HDA contents of the samples analyzed seem to have two ranges: 1.8% and 3% (w/w), that would be useful to qualify the RJ. This is the first data regarding 10-HDA content of Brazilian RJ.

The aim of this paper was to determine the 10-HDA in pure royal jelly and products containing royal jelly, using HPLC methodology. 10-HDA is the natural indicator of the presence of royal jelly in products and also gives the authenticity of pure royal jelly. The chromatographic conditions used were: isocratic system, C18-H column, auto sampler, diode array UV-VIS detector (225 nm), mobile phase with methanol/water (45:55), pH= 2.5 and a-naphtol as internal standard. The results obtained using laboratory samples for pure royal jelly were 2.37%, varying from 0.15% for honey with 10% of royal jelly to 2.10% for honey with 90% of royal jelly respectivelly. For commercial products, the 10-HDA content varied from no detectable to 0.026%. The recovery test presented a minumum of 100.44% The detection limit was 45.92 ng/mL and the quantification limit was 76.53 ng/mL.

The aim of this paper was to compare methods of moisture determination to choose the best one for the determination of this parameter in royal jelly samples. Royal jelly is sensitive to high temperatures becoming dark and loosing volatiles in high temperatures. The methods were: vacuum oven at 60 ºC, 70 ºC, conventional oven at 105 ºC, Karl Fisher, dissecator with sulfuric acid and dryness with infrared light at 105 ºC. Based on the results, the best method was the dissecator with sulfuric acid for moisture determination in royal jelly.