The specificity of monofloral bee pollen fatty acid composition from Croatia and its nutritional value

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of botanical origin on the fatty acids composition of bee pollen and its nutritional value. The seven monofloral bee pollen samples from different locations of Croatia were analysed. A total of 26 fatty acids (from C12 to C24) were identified with a significant difference in their shares in the samples, and nine of them were common to all samples. Assessing bee pollen fatty acids composition through the nutritional quality indicators (high unsaturated fatty acids/saturated fatty acids ratios, high n-3/n-6 and α-linolenic acid/linoleic acid ratios, very low atherogenic and thrombogenic indexes) it is evident that all analysed bee pollen samples are valuable products, which included in the diet can improve the fatty acids balance and could have a positive impact on human health.

Keywords

• bee products
• health benefits
• saturated fatty acids
• polyunsaturated fatty acids
• n-6/n-3 ratio