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Investigating the effect of harvest season on the bioaccessibility of bee pollen polyphenols by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

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Abstract

Pollen, a natural component of flowers that regulates the reproduction of plants, is in granular form and collected by bees as source of food. A wide range of nutrients including carbohydrates, amino acids, vitamins and polyphenols constitute bee pollen, the latter being responsible for its various biological activities. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of harvest season on the bioaccessibility of bee pollen polyphenols. For this purpose, bee pollen samples were collected for 4 consecutive weeks from Domanic, Kutahya, Türkiye. The collected samples were subjected to the standardized INFOGEST in vitro digestion model. The changes in the total phenolics, flavonoids and antioxidant capacity during digestion were measured using spectrophotometric methods, whereas the alterations in individual polyphenols were identified and quantified using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI–MS/MS). Results of spectrophotometric methods showed that the bioaccessible total phenolics, flavonoids and antioxidants were higher in samples collected at the first week compared to samples collected at the following weeks (18–25%, 38–47% and 52–57%, respectively) (P < 0.05). UPLC-ESI–MS/MS analysis of bee pollen samples led to the identification of 30 major compounds including 17 flavonoids and 13 phenolic acids and other bioactive compounds. In total, the concentration of bioaccessible flavonoids was the highest in samples collected at the first week, whereas samples collected on the third week contained significantly more bioaccessible phenolic acids and other bioactive compounds (P < 0.05). Overall, the current study highlighted that harvest season affects the content and bioaccessibility of bee pollen polyphenols.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Turkish Beekeepers Association, particularly Civan Beekeeping Company for their support in sample collection.

Funding

This research was funded by Bursa Uludag University Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit, grant number BUAP-(BTUAM)-2020/4.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Science and Technology Application and Research Center (BITUAM), Bursa Uludag University, Bursa, 16059, Gorukle, Türkiye

    Arzu Akpinar Bayizit, Erturk Bekar, Taha Turgut Unal, M. Alpgiray Celik, Busra Acoglu Celik, Elif Koc Alibasoglu, Pinar Sahin Dilmenler, Perihan Yolci Omeroglu, O. Utku Copur & Senem Kamiloglu

  2. Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Bursa Uludag University, Bursa, 16059, Gorukle, Türkiye

    Arzu Akpinar Bayizit, Erturk Bekar, Taha Turgut Unal, Busra Acoglu Celik, Elif Koc Alibasoglu, Pinar Sahin Dilmenler, Perihan Yolci Omeroglu, O. Utku Copur & Senem Kamiloglu

  3. Department of Food Hygiene and Technology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Bursa Uludag University, Bursa, 16059, Gorukle, Türkiye

    M. Alpgiray Celik

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Contributions

Conceptualization, AAB, PYO, OUC and SK; methodology, AAB, PYO, OUC and SK; validation, EB and SK; formal analysis, EB and SK; investigation, EB, TTU, MAC., BAC., EKA and PSD; resources, AAB, PYO, OUC. and SK; data curation, EB and SK; writing—original draft preparation, EB, TTU and SK; writing—review and editing, AAB, PYO and OUC; visualization, EB, TTU and SK; supervision, AAB, PYO, OUC and SK; project administration, AAB, PYO, OUC and SK; funding acquisition, AAB, PYO, OUC and SK. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Senem Kamiloglu.

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Akpinar Bayizit, A., Bekar, E., Unal, T.T. et al. Investigating the effect of harvest season on the bioaccessibility of bee pollen polyphenols by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Eur Food Res Technol 249, 2529–2542 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-023-04316-8

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