Physico-chemical, microbiological, and antioxidant activity of fresh bee pollen, dried bee pollen, and bee pollen powder of Apis mellifera

The bee pollen consists of a cluster of pollen grains from various plant sources collected by bees. It is a widely consumed product due to its important antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. The main aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the physico-chemical and microbiological characteristics, along with total phenolics, total flavonoids, and antioxidant activity in fresh bee pollen, dried bee pollen (dried by oven and lyophilization process) and in the bee pollen powder (residue left after drying in oven). The results indicate that bee pollen was within the requirements of the Brazilian legislation, with the exception of moisture content which may be due to the rainy season while collecting. The oven dried and lyophilized bee pollens showed higher antioxidant activity (69.77 and 71.06%, respectively) capable of reducing the DPPH radical. The results of dried bee pollen were not statistically (p<0.05) different from the bee pollen powder in most of these tests. Microbiological analysis showed that the fresh bee pollen should not be consumed before proper treatment. The bee pollen samples can be considered a potential source of natural antioxidants because of its high contents of phenols and flavonoids.