Nutrients, phytochemicals and botanical origin of commercial bee pollen from different geographical areas

This work evaluated the nutritional, phytochemical composition and botanical origin of commercial bee pollen from three different countries. Fructose (17–23%) was the most abundant sugar, followed by glucose (14–16%) and sucrose (5–6%). The protein content in Colombian (24%) and Italian (22%) pollen was higher than in the Spanish sample (14%). The total lipid contents were higher for the Spanish (6%) and Colombian pollens (6%) than the Italian (2.5%). Twenty-one fatty acids were identified, and the most abundant were palmitic, α-linolenic, linoleic and oleic acid. Colombian pollen was rich in n‒3 fatty acids, while Italian and Spanish samples contained high amounts of n‒6 fatty acids. Polyphenols and carotenoids were identified by UHPLC-DAD-Orbitrap mass spectrometry detection. Thirty-nine polyphenols were identified, and the dominant compounds were tri-caffeoyl- and caffeoyl-di-p-coumaroyl spermidine derivatives. Di-lauryl-zeaxanthin was the main carotenoid detected in all the samples analyzed. Colombian pollen contained traces of lutein, zeaxanthin, β-carotene and phytoene, while only β-carotene was present in the Spanish and Italian samples. After saponification, the average total amount of carotenoids was 57, 25 and 221 μg/g in pollen from Spain, Italy and Colombia, respectively. The free proline to total free amino acid ratio was 53, 59 and 78 for pollen from Spain, Italy and Colombia, respectively.