Nutritional composition and bioactive compounds of Melipona seminigra pot-pollen from Amazonas, Brazil

Author(s)

Rebelo, Kemilla S. ^{[1, 2]} ; Cazarin, Cinthia B. B. ^[2] ; Iglesias, Amadeu H. ^{[3, 4]} ; Stahl, Marcella A. ^[5] ; Kristiansen, Karsten ^{[6, 7]} ; Carvalho-Zilse, Gislene A. ^[8] ; Grimaldi, Renato ^[5] ; Reyes, Felix G. R. ^[3] ; Danneskiold-Samsoe, Niels B. ^[6] ; Junior, Mario R. M. ^[2]

Affiliation

^[1] Fed Univ Amazonas UFAM, Inst Hlth & Biotechnol, Estr Coari Mamia 305, BR-69460000 Coari, AM - Brazil

^[2] Univ Campinas UNICAMP, Sch Food Engn, Food & Nutr Dept, CP 6121, BR-13083862 Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[3] Univ Campinas UNICAMP, Sch Food Engn, Food Sci Dept, Campinas - Brazil

^[4] Apex Sci Consultoria Analit Ltda, Campinas - Brazil

^[5] Univ Campinas UNICAMP, Sch Food Engn, Food Technol Dept, Campinas - Brazil

^[6] Univ Copenhagen, Dept Biol, Lab Genom & Mol Biomed, Copenhagen - Denmark

^[7] BGI Shenzhen, Inst Metagen, Shenzhen - Peoples R China

^[8] Natl Inst Amazonian Res INPA, Bees Res Grp, Manaus, Amazonas - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture; v. 101, n. 12, p. 4907-4915, SEP 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

BACKGROUND Pot-pollen is a fermented product stored by stingless bees in cerumen pots and traditionally used as food or medicine by natives in tropical regions. Knowledge of pot-pollen composition from the Amazon region is important to strengthen the breeding of native bees and consequently contribute to sustainable development in this region. The aim of the present study was to determine the chemical composition of Melipona seminigra pot-pollen from Amazonas, Brazil. RESULTS We report the identification of 21 phenolic compounds using ultra-performance liquid chromatography- electrospray ionization-quadrupole time-of-flight-mass spectrometry. Overall, the predominant constituents of pot-pollen were protein (333.8-470.7 g kg(-1)) and dietary fibers (247.6-353.3 g kg(-1)). The predominant fatty acids were polyunsaturated (44.95-59.57% of total fatty acid content) and the samples contained all essential amino acids. Total carotenoid content ranged from 3.2 to 48.0 mu g g(-1), total flavonoid content (as catechin equivalents) from 1.9 to 4.5 mg g(-1), total reducing capacity (as gallic acid equivalents) from 7.0 to 15.0 mg g(-1), ferric-reducing antioxidant power from 2.8 to 8.9 mu mol g(-1) and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (as Trolox equivalents) from 224.9 to 1117.0 mu mol g(-1). CONCLUSIONS This study reports for the first time a comprehensive chemical characterization of M. seminigra pot-pollen. The samples presented antioxidant activity, high values of nutrients and bioactive compounds such as polyphenols, carotenoids, insoluble dietary fibers, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and essential amino acids, comparable to other health foods. (c) 2021 Society of Chemical Industry (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 15/50333-1 - COBRA: a novel compound discovery pipeline for rapid and cost-effective identification of bioactives with health beneficial effects in Brazilian crops
• Grantee: Glaucia Maria Pastore
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants