Journal of Emerging Trends in Engineering and Applied Sciences: Research Areas

Abstract:
Bee pollen is an indispensable apicultural product in many diets due to its high nutritional and medicinal value. The research investigated its minerals and amino acids content using standard methods of analyses. The results revealed that Potassium is the most abundant macro element in the fruit (360.56 � 4.92mg), followed by calcium (245.69 � 3.12mg), phosphorus (197.76 � 1.87mg), magnesium (98.46 � 1.08mg), and sodium (27.63 � 2.51mg). On the other hand, iron is the most abundant micro element (14.44 � 1.75mg), followed by manganese (6.97 � 0.77mg), zinc (4.33 � 0.98mg), copper (3.50 � 0.12mg), and nickel (2.51 � 0.09mg). Of the essential amino acids, leucine, lysine and aromatic (phenylalanine and tyrosine) are the predominant acids, while glutamic, aspartic and alanine were found to be the major non-essential amino acids. The essential amino acids were above the recommended level by Food and Agricultural Organization/World Health Organization (FAO/WHO) for both adults and pre-school children aged 2-5 years. The present investigation indicates the potential use of bee pollen as rich source of many important nutrients that appear to have a very positive effect on human health.

Keywords: Bee Pollen; Minerals, Amino Acids, Essential; Non- Essential

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