title: Fatty Acid and Proximate Composition of Bee Bread.
abstract: Palynological spectrum, proximate and fatty acid (FA) composition of eight bee bread samples of different botanical origins were examined and significant variations were observed. The samples were all identified as monofloral, namelyCastanea sativa(94.4%),Trifoliumspp. (85.6%),Gossypium hirsutum(66.2%),Citrusspp. (61.4%) andHelianthus annuus(45.4%). Each had moisture content between 11.4 and 15.9%, ash between 1.9 and 2.54%, fat between 5.9 and 11.5%, and protein between 14.8 and 24.3%. A total of 37 FAs were determined with most abundant being (9Z,12Z,15Z)-octadeca-9,12,15-trienoic, (9Z,12Z)- -octadeca-9,12-dienoic, hexadecanoic, (Z)-octadec-9-enoic, (Z)-icos-11-enoic and octadecanoic acids. Among all, cotton bee bread contained the highest level of ω-3 FAs,i.e.41.3%. Unsaturated to saturated FA ratio ranged between 1.38 and 2.39, indicating that the bee bread can be a good source of unsaturated FAs.
authors.affiliation: TUBITAK Marmara Research Center, Food Institute, Gebze, TR-41470 Kocaeli, Turkey.
authors.forename: Muammer
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kaplan
authors.affiliation: TUBITAK Marmara Research Center, Food Institute, Gebze, TR-41470 Kocaeli, Turkey.
authors.forename: Öznur
authors.initials: Ö
authors.lastname: Karaoglu
authors.affiliation: TUBITAK Marmara Research Center, Food Institute, Gebze, TR-41470 Kocaeli, Turkey.
authors.forename: Nazife
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Eroglu
authors.affiliation: Erciyes University, Agriculture Faculty, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, TR-38039 Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Sibel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Silici
keywords: bee bread; fatty acid composition; monofloral pollen; pollen analysis; proximate composition