Antioxidant Properties of Bee Pollen and Bee Bread

In recent years, a lot of data has been published on studies of the antioxidant properties of pollen. Quantitative changes in blood cells and positive shifts in the immune system were found in oncology patients recovering from serious somatic diseases and injuries who used pollen as a means of rehabilitation treatment. Therefore, pollen can be recommended for people suffering from anemia, hepatitis, thyroid diseases, type 2 diabetes, after radiation treatment, and with ulcers. People who regularly use pollen and their mixtures with honey get colds three times less often than others who live and work in the same conditions. Research has shown that blood lipids, hemoglobin content, the body’s antioxidant system and lipid peroxidation indicators are significantly changed after consuming pollen in medium doses for 2-3 weeks. Attention should be paid to the radioprotective properties of pollen. Mixtures of pollen and royal jelly with honey are an effective means of prevention and treatment of osteoporosis, prostate adenoma.
Dr. D. Stasytytė- Bunevičienė (2010) advises to use pollen in winter and spring as an additional natural source of complete proteins, vitamins, trace elements and many biologically active substances. The author reminds us that pollen collected in Lithuania is the most valuable to us, because the local raw material is the most acceptable to the population. The doctor reminds us that pollen not only supplies the human body with important substances, but can significantly alleviate some diseases and conditions. Complexes of lipids and hormones present in them participate in the synthesis of vitamin D, affecting cholesterol metabolism. Phospholipids prevent the accumulation of fat in the walls of blood vessels and slow down the development of atherosclerosis. They contain inosine, which has a strong antisclerotic effect. Special research has established that the pollen collected in Lithuania contains many different substances with antioxidant properties, including vitamin C, A, alpha-tocopherol, carotenoids, etc. Taking breaks of 1-2 weeks, in winter and spring, one teaspoon of dried pollen per day should be used by the vast majority of old people, as well as elderly people with mental disorders caused by old age or illness, especially at night. Spanish scientists and apitherapists found that in cases of senile mental disorders, small and very small doses of pollen (2-20 g) have anti-stress, antidepressant and anti-psychotic effects, improve sleep, appetite, and reduce the tendency to urinate frequently at night. In addition, pollen should also be remembered for those taking diuretics, the effect of which reduces the amount of potassium in the body, in the presence of anemia caused by various causes.
Researchers (2002) investigated the antioxidant properties of pollen from plants of various botanical origins because they believed it was important for practical apitherapy to know whether monofloral pollen from different plants had different antioxidant properties.
Research data showed that most of the pollen samples tested confirmed their antioxidant properties. Analyzing the hepatoprotective and antihypoxic effects, the antioxidant activity of dandelion and clover pollens was maximally expressed, cornflower, garden crops and polyfloral pollens were average, and comfrey pollens were minimal.
The authors of the study say that it is important to know this when prescribing pollen for treatment, dietetics and cosmetology, because the possibilities of its use and recommended doses may depend on the properties of these pollens.
Scientists of the Ryazan State Medical Institute V.G. Makarova and others. ( 2004) studied the antioxidant effects and properties of pollen, royal jelly and ginseng on the liver. A toxic tetrachloromethane hepatitis model was selected for the comparative study to evaluate the antioxidant effect. The experimental scheme consisted of five groups, each with 6 animals.
Rats in group 1, which were induced with toxic hepatitis 10 days before the study and another 3 days after the start of the study, together with the toxic substance, were administered daily by gastric gavage in the form of suspensions at the corresponding daily doses of 10, 250 and 5 mg/kg of pollen, royal jelly and ginseng.
Group 5 consisted of rats that underwent only sham procedures. She was the control. After 24 hours, at the end of the experiment, liver tissues were removed from ether-narcotized rats for the production of homogenate and the concentration of malondialdehyde was determined by spectrophotometric method. After the study, it became clear that all tested preparations had a pronounced antioxidant effect in the liver homogenate. However, the highest antioxidant effect was with pollen.
The authors of the study believe that an even better antioxidant effect can be achieved using a combination of pollen and royal jelly. Such a composition, in which each component preserves its characteristics, would allow additional expansion