Chemical composition and antioxidant activity of <i>Apis mellifera</i> bee pollen from northwest Algeria

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the nutritional compositionand antioxidant activity of bee pollen produced in the North western region of Algeria.The content of total phenolic compounds,flavonoids, and antioxidant activity using the molybdate ion reductionmethod were determined. The meancontents of phenolic compounds and total flavonoids were 30.46 ± 8.22 mgof GAE.g^–1 pollen and 8.92 ± 5.5 mg of RE.g^–1 pollen, respectively. Highantioxidant activities were found for the molybdate ion reductionmethod, with values that ranged from 71.95 to 101.5μg of GAE.g^–1 pollen. The bee pollen ofBoufarikshowed high antioxidant activity probably due to the high contentof phenolic compounds present in pollen.

Keywords: Beepollen; Phenolic compounds; Flavonoids; Antioxidant activity; Molybdate