Doi: 10.3390/nu13061876

Shaden A. M. Khalifa,^1,* Mohamed H. Elashal,² Nermeen Yosri,^2,3 Ming Du,⁴ Syed G. Musharraf,⁵ Lutfun Nahar,⁶ Satyajit D. Sarker,⁷ Zhiming Guo,³ Wei Cao,⁸ Xiaobo Zou,³ Aida A. Abd El-Wahed,⁹ Jianbo Xiao,¹⁰ Hany A. Omar,¹¹ Mohamed-Elamir F. Hegazy,¹² and Hesham R. El-Seed

Published online 2021 May 31

Abstract

Bee pollen is a combination of plant pollen and honeybee secretions and nectar. The Bible and ancient Egyptian texts are documented proof of its use in public health. It is considered a gold mine of nutrition due to its active components that have significant health and medicinal properties. Bee pollen contains bioactive compounds including proteins, amino acids, lipids, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins, and polyphenols. The vital components of bee pollen enhance different bodily functions and offer protection against many diseases. It is generally marketed as a functional food with affordable and inexpensive prices with promising future industrial potentials. This review highlights the dietary properties of bee pollen and its influence on human health, and its applications in the food industry.

Keywords: bee pollen, metabolic syndromes, human health, functional food, nutritional value

1. Introduction

In ancient societies, mainly in Greece, China, and Egypt, bee products were widely used in medicine. The ancient Egyptians portray pollen as “a life-giving dust” [1]. Bee pollen (Figure 1) is a mixture of flower pollen with honeybee secretions and nectar. It can be gathered at the entrance of the hives with the aid of traps (Figure 1) [2]. Bee pollen is used in diets as supplementary nutrition due to its beneficial actions against human diseases. It is a potential source of vital nutrients like proteins, lipids, vitamins, minerals, and carbohydrates, as well as trace elements and considerable amounts of polyphenols, mainly flavonoids [3]. Plant and geographical origins besides other factors like atmospheric conditions, soil nature, and behavior of the bees affects bee pollen chemical composition [4,5].

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References:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8230257/