African honeybee royal jelly: Phytochemical contents, free radical scavenging activity, and physicochemical properties
Publication Type
Journal Article
Journal Name
Food Bioscience
Publication Date
10-1-2020
Abstract
The phytochemical contents, physicochemical properties, and free radical scavenging activity of royal jelly (RJ), secreted by honeybees (Apis mellifera) were studied. The samples had similar components, although some such as fructose, glucose, and 10-hydroxy-2-decanoic acid, varied in comparison to RJ from Asian and European honeybees. They showed significant free radical scavenging potential (170 ± 60 mg/mL), suggesting the possible use of African RJ as a nutraceutical substance. However, weak positive correlations of 0.213, and 0.002, were found between the free radical scavenging activity and phytochemicals (phenols and flavonoids, respectively), implying that the biofunctional properties of RJ do not derive from the phytochemicals. Instead, principal component analysis (PCA) showed that sugars explain the free radical scavenging activity. PCA clustered the samples into sampling locations, signifying the influence of the geographical area on the composition of RJ.
Keywords
10-Hydroxy-2-decenoic acid, Antioxidant activity, Apis mellifera, Flavonoids, Kenya, Phenols, Phytochemicals
Recommended Citation
Mokaya, H., Njeru, L., & Lattorff, H. (2020). African honeybee royal jelly: Phytochemical contents, free radical scavenging activity, and physicochemical properties. Food Bioscience, 37 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fbio.2020.100733