CHEMICAL DIVERSITY OF POLYPHENOLS FROM BEE POLLEN AND PROPOLIS

Abstract

Bee pollen and propolis represent the bee products with the highest concentration of phenolic substances. These products contains a variety of chemical compounds but phenolic compounds are considered the main bioactive constituents. The chemical composition in both cases varies with botanical sources available to bees and extraction conditions. Despite chemical diversity, most of the samples share a similar phenolic profile. Only a part of phenolic constituents like flavonoid glycosides and pigments have been demonstrated the use as markers to discriminate bee pollen or propolis from different botanical origins.This paper highlights the main factors that contributes to chemical diversity of polyphenols from bee pollen and propolis.