Histological Evaluation of the Small Intestine of Worker Bees after the use of Essential Oils

Abstract

The paper presents the results regarding the influence of additional feedings with essential oils (mint, thyme, basil, oregano, cloves, cinnamon, rosemary, juniper) on the development of intestinal villi of the worker bees that came from bee colonies fed for 3 weeks with sugar syrup and the essential oils mentioned. Between 30.03.2021 and 21.04.2021, 18 worker bee samples were analysed. Significant changes in the development of intestinal villi were observed in all analysed groups. The best results in terms of the development of intestinal villi were shown in the group fed with sugar syrup and the addition of mint essential oil (141.2 μm), followed by the group with the addition of cinnamon oil (96.56 μm) and the batch with added essential oil of oregano (81.28 μm).

Keywords

• bees, essential oils, histological examination, intestinal villi, supplementary feeding