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Determination of Ascorbic Acid, Total Ascorbic Acid, and Dehydroascorbic Acid in Bee Pollen Using Hydrophilic
Meifei Zhu1,2, Jian Tang1,2, Xijuan Tu1,2
1College of Bee Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
|December 8, 2020
Summary
A new method accurately measures total ascorbic acid (AA) and its oxidized form (DHA) in bee pollen. This analysis provides a more precise nutritional assessment of bee pollen, crucial for understanding its health benefits.
Area of Science:
- Analytical Chemistry
- Food Science
- Nutritional Biochemistry
Background:
- Ascorbic acid (AA) is a vital nutrient in bee pollen but is prone to oxidation into dehydroascorbic acid (DHA).
- Both AA and DHA possess equivalent biological activity, making total ascorbic acid (TAA) determination essential for accurate nutritional analysis of bee pollen.
- Existing methods may not adequately differentiate between AA and DHA in complex matrices like bee pollen.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a simple, sensitive, and reliable method for the simultaneous determination of AA, DHA, and TAA in various bee pollen types.
- To apply the validated method to quantify AA and DHA content in rape, lotus, and camellia bee pollen.
- To establish the first report on discriminative determination of AA and DHA in bee pollen.
Main Methods:
- Ultrasonic extraction of bee pollen samples using a metaphosphoric acid solution.
- Analysis of extracted samples via hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) coupled with ultraviolet (UV) detection.
- Method validation to ensure accuracy, sensitivity, and reliability for bee pollen analysis.
Main Results:
- The developed HILIC-UV method was successfully applied to twenty-one bee pollen samples.
- Ascorbic acid (AA) content varied significantly across pollen types, ranging from 17.54–94.01 µg/g (rape), 66.01–111.66 µg/g (lotus), and 90.04–313.02 µg/g (camellia).
- The percentage of DHA within TAA demonstrated intra-species consistency: 13.7% (rape), 16.5% (lotus), and 7.6% (camellia).
Conclusions:
- The proposed HILIC-UV method provides accurate and reliable quantification of AA and DHA in bee pollen.
- This discriminative analysis offers a more precise nutritional evaluation of bee pollen compared to measuring only total AA.
- The method is valuable for future research on bee pollen's nutritional composition and potential health benefits.
