Antioxidant and Thioredoxin Reductase and Trypsin Inhibitor Activities of Honey, Bee Pollen and Bee Bread

Abstract

Nowadays, some natural foods have started to be preferred by people because of their health protective-therapeutic properties. Among these products, bee products have a very important value. In particular, honey has been used in traditional medicine for centuries because of its nutritional and therapeutic properties. Other bee products except for honey such as pollen and bee bread have started to be consumed intensively as functional foods in recent years due to their pharmacological properties such as antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and hypoglycemic activities1. However, scientific research on bee bread is very limited.In this study, it was aimed to determine the total phenolic-flavonoid content, antioxidant capacity, and thioredoxin reductase and trypsin inhibitor activities of different bee products (honey, bee pollen, bee bread) collected from Turkey, Bayburt. Total phenolic and flavonoid content of bee products was determined by using Folin-Ciocalteu and aluminum chloride methods, respectively, and antioxidant activity was determined by using CUPRAC (Cupric Reducing Antioxidant Capacity) and DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) assay. As a result, the total phenolic content of honey, pollen, and bee bread samples were found to be 0.73, 9.03, 6.28 mg GA/g, and the total flavonoid content was 0.31, 3.00, 1.74 mg QE/g respectively. As a result of the antioxidant activity analysis, the extracts tested were sorted as bee pollen> bee bread> honey. All bee products exhibited various concentration-dependent degrees of inhibition against thioredoxin reductase and trypsin. Honey showed the highest thioredoxin reductase and trypsin inhibitory activities.As a result, consumption of bee products classified in the functional food class, which has a remarkable total phenolic-flavonoid content and antioxidant activity, may be beneficial for people to be protected from diseases and to lead a healthier life. For this reason, it is important to determine the chemical contents and biological activities of such natural products and to carry out detailed researches for their standardization in Turkey, which is an important point in terms of beekeeping activities.