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.