Botanical origin, chemical composition, and microbiological quality of bee pollen from Iran

Bee pollen as a natural product has gained popularity in recent years and is increasingly being used as a food and dietary supplement. This work aims to characterize, the botanical origin, nutritional value, total phenolic content, and microbiological quality of this beehive product. Palynological analyses of 28 pollen samples by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) identified a total of 75 pollen types from 25 families and 64 genera, most of them belonging to Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Rosaceae, Brassicaceae and Apiaceae families. Physicochemical parameters were determined, and data showed that pH, moisture, and ash content values ranged from 4.7 to 5.4, 2.1% to 3.2%, and 1.8% to 2.1%, respectively. Total carbohydrate, lipid, and protein contents in these samples varied from 67.7% to 75.8%, 2.1% to 8.9%, and 16.4% to 24.6%, respectively. Total phenolic content was between 6 and 11.5 mg GAE/g pollen. Microbiological quality was assessed using the plate count method, and the aerobic mesophilic plate count (APC) of pollen samples ranged from 1.2 × 10² to 6 × 10³ cfu/g. The results of this study could play an important role in the quality control of bee pollen, and help improve the commercial value of this product.