Comparative Phenolic Composition and Antioxidant Properties of Honey and Honeycomb Extracts

Although many studies have described the physiological effects of bee products, such as honey, propolis, pollen, and royal jelly, the health benefits of honeycomb remain incompletely characterized. We performed a comparative study of the antioxidant properties of honey and honeycomb extracts using two different solvents (water and 95% ethanol). The results showed that the total phenolic and flavonoid content of the honeycomb extract was higher than that of the honey extract. They also demonstrated that water was more effective than ethanol in extracting total phenols. The in vitro antioxidant properties of the water honeycomb extract were evaluated using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and nitric oxide (NO^•) radical scavenging assays and ferrous ion chelating and reducing power assays. The antioxidant activity of the honeycomb extract exhibited was higher than that of the honey extract. The 50% effective concentrations (EC₅₀) of the honeycomb extract were 7.3±0.26 mg/ml for scavenging DPPH radicals, 6.1±0.22 mg/ml for scavenging NO^• radicals, 6.9±0.44 mg/ml for chelating ferrous ions, and 8.2±0.11 mg/ml for reducing power. A correlation analysis revealed that the total phenolics and flavonoids of the honeycomb extract were the major contributors to the radical scavenging activity, ferrous ion chelating, and reducing power. The honeycomb extract was effective in protecting biological systems against various oxidative stresses in vitro. This is the first report on the antioxidant properties of honeycomb.

벌꿀과 벌집채꿀의 페놀성분 및 항산화 효과 비교

본 연구에서는 야생화로부터 채밀한 제주 지역 벌꿀 및 벌집채꿀의 페놀성분 분석과 항산화 활성 비교평가를 시행하였다. 총 폴리페놀 및 플라보노이드 함량 측정 결과 물을 용매로 사용한 벌집채꿀에서 가장 높은 함량을 나타냈다. 또한 벌꿀 및 벌집채꿀 모두 농도 의존적으로 항산화 활성이 증가하는 양상을 보였으며, 이를 EC₅₀ 및 EC_0.5 값으로 환산한 결과 벌집채꿀이 벌꿀에 비해 통계적으로 유의하게 높은 항산화 활성을 나타내었다. 상기의 결과를 종합하여 봤을 때 총 폴리페놀 및 플라보노이드 함량과 항산화 활성간의 높은 연관성이 있다는 것을 추측 해볼 수 있었고 이를 상관관계를 통해 분석한 결과, 총 페놀 및 플라보노이드 성분의 함량과 항산화 활성이 통계적으로 유의한 상관관계를 나타냄을 확인할 수 있었다. 이러한 결과들은 잠재적 천연식품소재로의 벌집채꿀의 가능성을 시사하며 향후 이에 대한 체계적인 연구가 필요하다 사료된다.