<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>The pollen of stingless bees is derived from flower pollen mixed with bee digestive enzymes and preserved with honey and nectar. In this study, the volatile compounds present in ethanolic bee pollen extracts (BPEs) from three species of the Malaysian stingless bee were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Hydrocarbons, sugars and its derivatives, fatty acids, amino acids, alcohol, uridine, aldehyde and an unknown carbamate were detected. Mannitol, the main sugar compounds, represented 54.34% in <italic>Trigona thoracica</italic>, 39.11% in <italic>Trigona apicalis</italic> and 33.05% in <italic>Trigona itama.</italic> Propanoic acid and hexadecanoic acid were the main hydrocarbons present in the extract of <italic>Trigona apicalis</italic> (4.04%) and <italic>Trigona thoracica</italic> pollen (1.28%) respectively. The polyunsaturated fatty acids linoleic acid and <bold>α</bold>-linolenic acid were found in small amounts in all BPEs (0.07-1.11%). The chemical compounds found in BPEs had biological activities, thus bee pollen may be useful in traditional medicine and as a health supplement.</p></abstract>

The pollen of stingless bees is derived from flower pollen mixed with bee digestive enzymes and preserved with honey and nectar. In this study, the volatile compounds present in ethanolic bee pollen extracts (BPEs) from three species of the Malaysian stingless bee were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Hydrocarbons, sugars and its derivatives, fatty acids, amino acids, alcohol, uridine, aldehyde and an unknown carbamate were detected. Mannitol, the main sugar compounds, represented 54.34% in Trigona thoracica, 39.11% in Trigona apicalis and 33.05% in Trigona itama. Propanoic acid and hexadecanoic acid were the main hydrocarbons present in the extract of Trigona apicalis (4.04%) and Trigona thoracica pollen (1.28%) respectively. The polyunsaturated fatty acids linoleic acid and α-linolenic acid were found in small amounts in all BPEs (0.07-1.11%). The chemical compounds found in BPEs had biological activities, thus bee pollen may be useful in traditional medicine and as a health supplement.

GC-MS Analysis of Chemical Constituents in Ethanolic Bee Pollen Extracts from Three Species of Malaysian Stingless Bee

Journal of Apicultural Science

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

The pollen of stingless bees is derived from flower pollen mixed with bee digestive enzymes and preserved with honey and nectar. In this study, the volatile...

GC-MS Analysis of Chemical Constituents in Ethanolic Bee Pollen Extracts from Three Species of Malaysian Stingless Bee

Published Online: Dec 24, 2018

Page range: 275 - 284

Received: May 15, 2018

Accepted: Oct 02, 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jas-2018-0022

Keywords
gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), Malaysian stingless bee pollen, trigona, volatile compounds

© 2018 Wan Adnan Wan Omar et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

GC-MS Analysis of Chemical Constituents in Ethanolic Bee Pollen Extracts from Three Species of Malaysian Stingless Bee

Published Online: Dec 24, 2018

Page range: 275 - 284

Received: May 15, 2018

Accepted: Oct 02, 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jas-2018-0022

Keywordsgas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), Malaysian stingless bee pollen, trigona, volatile compounds

© 2018 Wan Adnan Wan Omar et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), Malaysian stingless bee pollen, trigona, volatile compounds