Bee Pollen as a Functional Product – Chemical Constituents and Nutritional Properties

Nutritional supplements play a role in promoting human protein synthesis, fitness recovery, and mental health protection. Pollen is considered a natural food with excellent nutritional value. The use of bee-gathered pollen as a nutritional supplement is now widespread around the world, and it is appreciated for its healing qualities. However, depending on the floral species and the region of origin, pollen has a wide range of nutritional value. It was found that clover pollen had the highest protein content (31.4 g/100 g DM), while the lowest content was observed in maize pollen (21.3%). Eucalyptus pollen had the highest lipid amount (9.49 g/100 g DM), while clover pollen had the lowest content (7.46 g/100 g). Phytochemical analysis showed that eucalyptus pollen occupied the highest total antioxidant activity (67.02%), followed by clover (58.25%) then maize (52.18%), whereas clover pollen had the highest phenolic content (1165 mg GAE/100 gm), compared with the other pollen varieties (949.4 to 1073 mg-GAE/100 gm). The contents of branched-chain amino acids were 29, 33.3, and 38.4 mg/g for maize, eucalyptus, and clover respectively, representing 17.87, 18.44, and 16.53% of total amino acids. The contents of total essential amino acids (EAAs) were 61.8, 73.0, and 83.5 mg/g for maize, eucalyptus, and clover pollen, respectively. Only eucalyptus pollen ultimately met the minimum requirements of EAAs for adults. In contrast, the other two types of pollen contained at least 3–4 limiting amounts of the essential amino acids leucine, lysine, phenylalanine, and valine. In conclusion, pollen is a good, affordable source of nutrients that can be utilized as beneficial dietary supplements for human health

Effect of Chitosan Nanoparticles as Edible Coating on the Storability and Quality of Apricot Fruits

Apricots are a fragile fruit that rots quickly after harvest. Therefore, they have a short shelf-life. The purpose of this work is to determine the effect of coatings containing chitosan (CH) as well as its nanoparticles (CHNPs) as thin films on the quality and shelf-life of apricots stored at room (25 ± 3 °C) and cold (5 ± 1 °C) temperatures. The physical, chemical, and sensorial changes that occurred during storage were assessed, and the shelf-life was estimated. Transmission electron microscopy was used to examine the size and shape of the nanoparticle. The nanoparticles had a spherical shape with an average diameter of 16.4 nm. During the storage of the apricots, those treated with CHNPs showed an obvious decrease in weight loss, decay percent, total soluble solids, and lipid peroxidation, whereas total acidity, ascorbic acid, and carotenoid content were higher than those in the fruits treated with CH and the untreated fruits (control). The findings of the sensory evaluation revealed a significant difference in the overall acceptability scores between the samples treated with CHNPs and the other samples. Finally, it was found that CHNP coatings improved the qualitative features of the apricots and extended their shelf-life for up to 9 days at room temperature storage and for 30 days in cold storage