• Journal of Species Research
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.145-151
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• 2015

Morphological changes of flowers and insect visitors were observed to investigate pollinator of Caesalpinia decapetala. The flowers of C. decapetala are protandrous. Functionally, the flower is changed from male to female. As a male, pollen grain is released after anther dehisced while style is immature. After completed pollen grain release, the style starts to lengthen. It helps the stigma to easily touch the carpenter bee's thorax covered with pollen grain. At this time, flower functions as a female. The majority of taxa and individuals observed were Hymenoptera. The most frequent visitor was the Xylocopa appendiculata circumvolans, carpenter bee. Carpenter bees exhibited only typical pollinator behavior among flower visitors, with touching reproductive organs and seeking nectar at the same time. The pollination behavior is as follows. Soon after carpenter bees perceived guide mark, they foraged rightward and grasped style and stamens with legs and they inserted proboscis into standard petal to seek nectar. With this behavior, the pollen grains of the male flower transfer to the ventral thorax of the carpenter bee. As the carpenter bee moves to another female flower, the deposited pollen grains are delivered to the stigma.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.89-95
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• 1997

The comparative effects of gamma irradiation an ozone treatment on the microbiological and physicochemical qualities were investigated for the improvement of hygienic quality of aloe powder and bee pollen. Gamma irradiation at 7.5~10kGy could reduce total aerobic bacteria, molds and coliforms below detection levels, but ozone treatment up to 18 ppm for 8hr was not sufficient to eliminate the microorganisms from aloe powder and bee pollen. The physicochemical properties such as fatty acid an amino acid compositions, mineral content, TBA value, barbaloin and pigment contents were not significantly changed by gamma irradiation, whereas ozone treatment caused significant changes in fatty acid composition, lipid oxidation and destruction of barbaloin and natural pigments.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.202-210
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• 2023

To analyze the pesticide residues in commercial bee pollen products in South Korea, 61 samples were collected and screened for 339 pesticides. Results revealed that approximately 34% (>LOQ) of samples were contaminated with at least one pesticide. The pesticide residue detection rates of domestic and imported samples were 31% and 44%, respectively. Furthermore, the pesticide residue detection rate of online distribution (60%) was higher than that of offline distribution (27%). Fifteen pesticides were discovered in bee pollen, and pendimethalin, chlorfenvinphos, chlorpyrifos, and fluazinam were detected in 7, 6, 3, and 2 order of frequency, respectively. Even though its concentration was low, chlorfenvinphos which is banned in food crops in the United States, European Union, and Korea, was detected in bee pollen samples commonly. Therefore, continuous investigation of pesticide residues in bee pollen products and their acceptance criteria is required for safety.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.136-143
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• 2022

Background: In northern Thailand, the longan flower is the principal nectar source for honey production. Microorganisms play a critical function in the agricultural ecology. The morphological characteristics of fungal species found in longan pollen were studied. Aspergillus spp. were found to be invertase-producing strains and were employed in the longan syrup production process. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of invertase-added longan syrup on the adult honey bee population numbers that were fed by this syrup for 16 weeks. Results: Different fungal species were found in longan pollen samples. Aspergillus was the main genus, with three predominant sections: Nigri, Flavi, and Terrei. Other isolated species were Trichoderma spp., Rhizopus spp., Neurospora spp., Chaetomium spp., Fusarium spp. and Penicillium spp. However, Aspergillus spp. is the only fungal species that produces the enzyme invertase. The invertase-producing strains belonging to the Aspergillus section Nigri were found to be A. niger LP5 with an optimum activity at pH 6.0 and 60℃. When A. niger LP5 invertase was used for longan syrup processing, the highest levels of glucose (3.45%) and fructose (2.08%) were found in invertase added longan syrup (C), while fresh (A) and boiled longan syrup (B) had lower contents of both sugars. The sucrose content was detected in (A) at 4.25%, while (B) and (C) were at 4.02% and 3.08%, respectively. An appropriate amount of sugar to feed and maintain the honey bee population was considered. The data showed no statistically significant differences between the two selected forms of longan syrup compared to the sugar syrup examined by the adult honey bee population. Conclusions: The main species of isolated fungi from longan pollen were Aspergillus spp. The discovery of an invertase-producing strain of A. niger LP5 has enabled its application for enzyme utilization in the invert sugar preparation process. The adult worker bee populations fed by longan syrup from both boiled and invertase-added sources showed an increasing trend. Artificial syrup made from longan fruit to feed honey bees when natural food sources are limited can be applied.

• Food Science and Industry
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.166-175
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• 2022

Current food system has developed with the agricultural innovation to feed the increasing population of the world, but with high costs such as environmental contamination and inequality with low sustainability. Human has developed long history of mutualistic interaction with honey bee. This manuscript describes the multi-functionality of honey bee for food production. Firstly honey bee produces honey, bee pollen, royal jelly and propolis which are rich in functionality. Second honey bee serves as the main pollinator for crop production which is worth for 28% of total crop production values in Korea. Lastly honey bee can be an alternative meat produciton system with lower energy, carbon costs but higher nutritional security. This manuscript described those parts and discussed the multi-functionality of honey bees for eco-friendly food security pursuing lowered environmental cost and carbon-zero strategies in the climate change era.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.89-93
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• 2018

In this study, we investigated the nutritional composition including proximate, amino acid, vitamin, minerals, and the antioxidant activity of green tea (Camellia sinensis) pollen grains collected by Apis mellifera bees, for use as a health food. The crude protein and fat content was estimated at 26.14% and 3.49%, respectively. Eighteen amino acids were identified in green tea pollen, including 8 essential amino acids and 10 non-essential amino acids. The predominant amino acids were glutamic acid, proline and aspartic acid accounting for about 33.3% of total free amino acids. The concentration of vitamin C was the highest value of 35.7%, followed by $B_3$ and $B_2$ among the detected vitamins. The predominant minerals were potassium (790.32 mg/100g), followed by phosphorus (707.52 mg/100g) and sulfur (302.67 mg/100g), whereas copper, zinc and sodium were detected as minor elements. The antioxidant activity and phenolic content accounted for 33.8% at $500{\mu}g/mL$ extract and $2.55 {\mu}g/mg$, respectively.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.165-169
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• 2014

In this study, we measured antioxidant activity as DPPH radical scavenging and the total polyphenol content of pulverized and lyophilized oak pollens inoculated with fungi to confirm the husk removal effect. The total polyphenol content of oak pollen was highest in lyophilized pollen medium inoculated with Armillaria mellea, and was lowest in pollen inoculated with Lentinula edodes. Total polyphenol content of the lyophilized pollen was higher than that of the refined pollen and the pulverized pollen in oak pollen germinated with A. mellea. The total polyphenol content of the lyophilized oak pollen germinated with A. mellea was 1.4-fold higher than that extracted with water. Measurement of antioxidant activity using the DPPH (2, 2 diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) free radical scavenging method showed that the lyophilized oak pollen germinated with A. mellea had the highest and that germinated with L. edodes was lowest in antioxidant activities. The lyophilized oak pollen germinated with A. mellea was 2 to 4 times higher than that extracted with water in the antioxidant activity of DPPH free radical scavenging. Many germinated cells were formed around pore of acorn pollen inoculated with L. edodes, while those were formed at the end of hyphae derived from oak pollen inoculated with A. mellea.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.1082-1088
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• 1997

To compare the characteristics between native bee honey (NBH) and foreign bee honey (FBH), NBH harvested from eight different areas of Kangwon, Korea and FBH harvested from Chuncheon, Kangwon, Korea and from other nations were investigated by measuring the contents of moisture, sugar, 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF), and pollen. Our results showed that contents of moisture in NBH and FBH were $16.4{\sim}23.0%$ and $15.8{\sim}21.0%$, respectively. Sugar contained in bee honey such as fructose, glucose, sucrose, maltose, and isomaltose were also analyzed. No difference were found between NBH and FBH in pH. The contents of HMF in NBH and FBH were $0.0{\sim}19.2\;mg/kg$ and $0.0{\sim}85.8\;mg/kg$, and was found that NBH is much lower than that in FBH. And production of HMF were accelerated by conditions of storage. Distributions of pollen in NBH were $0.4{\sim}88.3{\times}10^4/g$, which were significantly different from $0.0{\sim}0.4{\times}10^4/g$ obtained from FBH. According to those results, the methods used in this study are not suitable for identification of difference between NBH and FBH.

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.119-122
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• 2013

Pollens have been known to possess various biological properties. Therefore, pollens have been extensively used in functional food, folk medicine, and beverage industry to improve human health. This study was conducted to establish the optimized protocol for cytoplasm isolation of bee pollen. Data of biochemical parameters and fatty acid profiles were obtained from pollens of Acorn and Darae(Actinidia arguta). Contents of crude protein and crude fat were 24.1% and 11.8% in Acorn pollen, and those of Darae pollen showed 35.8% and 8.7% in crude protein and crude fat respectively. Also after lyophilizing of Acorn pollen, content of crude protein was increased to 26.5%. Main fatty acids were palmitic acid(C16 : 0), oleic acid(C18 : 1), linoleic acid(C18 : 2) and linolenic acid(C18 : 3) in bee pollen. Linoleic acid(37.3%) was dominant fatty acid in Acorn pollen that is one of essential fatty acids. Linolenic acid(48.3%) was dominant fatty acid in Darae pollen that is a polyunsaturated fatty acid. The proportion of unsaturated fatty acids to total acid content was 73.2% in Acorn and 63.2% in Darae pollen, and especially that of polyunsaturated fatty acids was higher than 55%.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.437-443
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• 2018

Activation of macrophages plays an important role in the host-immune system. In this study, we investigated the functional roles and related signaling mechanism of hot-water extracts of bee pollen (BPW) in RAW 264.7 macrophages. Since BPW did not exert cytotoxicity at concentrations ranging from 62.5 to $250{\mu}g/mL$ in macrophage cells, a concentration of $250{\mu}g/mL$ was used as the maximum dose of BPW throughout subsequent experiments. BPW increased inducible nitric oxide synthase-mediated nitric oxide production in a concentration-dependent manner. Additionally, BPW was found to induce macrophage activation by augmenting the expression of cell surface molecules (cluster of differentiation; CD80/86, and major histocompatibility complex; MHC class I/II) and production of pro-inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis $factor-{\alpha}$, interleukin-6, and $IL-1{\beta}$) through mitogen-activated protein kinase and nuclear $factor-{\kappa}B$ signaling pathways in RAW 264.7 macrophages. Taken together, our results indicate that BPW could potentially be used as an immunomodulatory agent.