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Bees, through their activity, provide us with bee products containing a variety of biologically active compounds, which, in different proportions, have a positive impact on general human health, on the physical performance or mental status but also from a nutritional point of view. Through this research paper, it was sought the obtaining of two functional foods based on apilarnil, royal jelly and multifloral pollen with biotechnological potential. The products prototypes produced were characterized from a physico-chemical and organoleptic point of view. As a result to the analyzes, numerous polyphenolic compounds have been identified in this jellies, namely: rutin, chlorogenic acid, isoquercetin, naringenin, and which give antidepressant, immunomodulatory, antitumoral, antiinflammatory, hypolipidemic, antioxidant, DNA protection, proliferation of peroxisomes activities, compared to commercial jelly, where the amount and concentration of polyphenolic compounds is greatly diminished. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bee products are rich in minerals, antioxidants, and simple sugars. Honey is known to be rich in both enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants. Bee-pollen is a complete natural supplement, with high and good protein and aminoacid content, lipids and fatty acids, as well as simple sugars. Beside the basic quality parameters, determination of bee products contamination is of crucial importance. Environmental contaminants in products of the hive involve heavy metals, organic pollutants, pesticides and genetically modified organisms. Also other type of contamination may be due to the improper beekeeping practices. Major contaminants associated with beekeeping practices are acaricides and antibiotics used for the control of bee diseases. Monitoring antibiotics residues in honey and honey products helps to assess the potential risk of these products to human health. APHIS Laboratory have implemented chromatographic methods for determination of different classes of antibiotics. Different samples of honey and bee-pollen were collected from beekeepers and subjected to tetracycline, oxytetracicline and sulfonamide determination. Positive samples were identified, representing 15% from the whole sample numbers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different unifloral honeys from Romanian market were evaluated against two important honeybee pathogens: Paenibacillus larvae (causative agent of American foulbrood) and Escherichia coli (frequently found in honeybee digestive tract). Chemical composition as well as biologically active compounds from black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), linden (Tillia spp.), canola (Brassica rapa), sunflower (Helianthus annuus) and heather honey (Calluna vulgaris) were determined in order to establish the authenticity in respect of botanical origin and quality parameters. Different concentrations of honey solutions as well as entire raw honey were evaluated for antimicrobial capacity using difuzimetric method. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined by succesive dillutions method and diferences between honey types were registered. Best results were obtained by using sunflower and heather honey, these two types presenting the highest diameter of inhibition for the two bacteries and the lowest minimum inhibitory concentration. Further in vivo studies are necessary to prove the efficacity of these honey types and their utilization in preventing bee diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contains a summary about chemical composition of apilarnil (drone bee larvae), determining moisture, ash, free acidity, total protein and sugars content. Apilarnil is widely used in commercial medical products and cosmetics in many countries. The composition of apilarnil is quite complex and is not detailed in the literature. Seven samples of apilarnil were analyzed and compared with literature data regarding the physico-chemical parameters. This preliminary study presents a basic battery of tests for quality of apilarnil, which may be used as food supplement or in other domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our researches had as main purpose the making of a comparative study concerning the correlation between the raw and dry cocoons at some mulberry silkworm breeds. Analyzing the obtained results concerning the characteristics of the raw and dry cocoon as well as the correlation between them, we revealed that the lowest and the highest values alternate from a trait to another and from a breed to other ones, a positive correlation couldn't be established for the traits studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Royal jelly present quality of the biological and physiological exception of the reason for which is marketed widely is being used in various industries, such as the pharmaceutical, food (nutritional supplements) and cosmetics companies (Măghitaş, 2005). This paper contents a summery about physical-chemical composition of fresh and lyophilized royal jelly. Queen bees are made, not born, and their feeding with royal jelly is the key to that process. Royal jelly (RJ) is a yellowish and creamy secretion from hypo pharyngeal and mandibular glands of young worker bees (Apis mellifera L.) to feed all larvae for the first three days of their life and the queen bee for both her larval life and adulthood. The physical-chemical composition of pure royal jelly are analyzed by determining moisture, free acidity, pH, ash; and for lyophilized royal jelly are analyzed by determining free acidity, pH, ash. In literature 10-HDA content is the criteria of royal jelly quality analysis and it is a freshness parameter (Antinelli J.F., Sarah Zeggane, Renee Davico, Catherine Rognone, Jean Paul Faucon, Louisette Lizzani, 2003). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The validation of the method of DNA extraction from Apis mellifera L. tissue was the aim of our work. The honeybee samples were harvested from the apiary of the Department of Technology of Honeybee Rearing from the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca in August 2007. DNA was extracted according to the protocol proposed by Hunt et al., 1999 and modified by Wilkes and Oldroyd, 2003. The NANODROP device was used for purity measurements. In order to elaborate the validation protocol the following parameters were calculated: detection limit, quantification limit, repeatability, reproducibility and uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Declared honeydew honey samples from different counties of Transylvania were screened for total phenolic content by a modified Folin-Ciocalteu method and for their potential antioxidant activity using three different spectrophotometric methods: 1,l-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and Trolox equivalent antioxidant activity (TEAC). The results of the study showed that not all the declared honeydew honey samples, correspond to the EU standard for honeydew honey, and they can be divided in three groups: honeydew honeys, mixture of honeydew and multifloral honey and multifloral honey. Total phenolic content and antioxidant activity of the honey are not strongly correlated parameters they differ widely among honey type. Phenolic content expressed as gallic acid equivalents ranged from 33,42 to 286,6 mgGAE/100g in the analyzed samples. Antioxidant activity presents the highest values in real honeydew honey samples and the lowest activity in multifloral honeys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

28 declared honeydew honey samples were collected from different Transylvanian areas directly from the beekeepers (24 samples) or from supermarket (4 samples). Physico-chemical parameters as well as microscopic analysis were done in order to authenticate the honeydew honey from this part of Romania. The results of electrical conductivity, ash and mineral content, honeydew honey elements demonstrated that from the analyzed samples 7 were real honeydew honeys, 9 were mixture of multifloral and honeydew honeys and 12 were multifloral honeys. High quantity of honey, ddeclared and sold as honeydew honey do not correspond to the EU requirements for honeydew honey. To improve this situation, a better control by the authorities and certified laboratories, is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contents of Ca, Mg, Fe and Zn of declared honeydew honey samples from different counties of Transylvania, was determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy after dry ashing with air-acetylene flame (Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn). In all studied honeydew honeys, Ca was the most abundant of the elements determined, with average concentrations ranging between 54.75-102.6 mg/kg, followed by Mg (52.01-78.4 mg/kg), Fe (3.09-6.27 mg/kg) and Zn (1.54-4.65 mg/kg). These results confirm that Romanian honey can be considered a good source of minerals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

28 declared honeydew honey samples were collected from different Transylvanian areas. Origin of the samples was verified by physico-chemical parameters and pollen analysis. Their sugar profile was analysed by means of HPLC with refractive index detection. The results obtained showed that only 25% of the samples correspond to the requirements of honeydew honey. The rest of 75% samples were mixed blossom-honeydew or pare blossom honeys. Our principal objective was the determination of sugar profile for Transylvanian honeydew honey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The defence strategies of the honey bee is strongly related to their behaviour. As a social insect, the risk of infection is very high, therefore, unless humans interfere, they have to deal themselves with the parasites, which sometimes could be very successful. A huge advantage is on the honey bee side, because there are thousands of individuals inside a colony, so they can unify their effort to eliminate the intruders on one hand. On the other hand, based on the honey bee - human relationship too, the honey bees have developed an evolutionary capacity of diagnose the disease and take some action. We here show that despite the virulence of some pathogens, the honey bees are capable of defend themselves and, sometimes, they can even resort to self medication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extracts of four species of Lamiaceae family medicinal plants (Agastache Foeniculum, Nepeta cataria, Melissa officinalis and Lavandula angustifolia) used in phytotherapy were screened for flavone content in two different harvest periods and two different hours of the day. Through this research we want to emphasize the optimal harvest time of vegetal raw material, when the studied plants contain the maximum active principles. The content of flavone/flavonols, main phenolics contained by these plants, was determined spectrophotometrically, according to Dowd method in APHIS Laboratory from USAMV Cluj-Napoca, with a Synergy 2 spectrophotometer, microplate reader. Duplicate samples of each plant were harvested for determinations from raw plant (fresh) and dry material. Following the data from Agastache Foeniculum and Nepeta cataria, the highest flavone content was obtained from the raw material harvested on 09/06/2014, at 16 hour, in both fresh and dried raw material. In the Melissa officinalis species, the highest flavone content was found in raw material (fresh and dry) which was harvested on 09/06/14, 11 hour. The highest flavone content in Lavandula angustifolia was found on 19/06/2014, 11 hour, in the fresh material and at 16 hour in the dry one. For the four studied species, the obtained results regarding the flavone content show that the optimal time of harvest was 09/06/2014, ie at the beginning of flowering, except for the species Melissa officinalis for which the flowering occured after 20/06/2014. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study attempts to characterise Fagaceae kernels as a promising source of nutritional compounds for potential use as novel food ingredients. Thus, the proximate and mineral composition of some kernels (beech achene-BA, sessile oak acorn-SOA, turkey oak acorn-TOA, and red oak acorn-ROA), total phenolic content, individual polyphenols, and cytotoxicity of their aqueous extracts, respectively, the fatty acid composition of kernel oils were investigated using physicochemical and analytical techniques. Results revealed that BAK is rich in lipid and protein, OAKs in carbohydrates. All tested kernels contain high oleic-linoleic acid oils. BAK is abundant in phenolic acids, OAKs in hydrolysable tannins. Only BA and SOA kernels exert cytotoxicity against human fibroblasts. In all kernels, macroelements are dominated by K and microelements by Cu, Mn, and Fe. In conclusion, BA and OA kernels could be alternatively used as protein-rich, respectively, starch-rich ingredients in food., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Monitoring virus infections can be an important selection tool in honey bee breeding. A recent study pointed towards an association between the virus-free status of eggs and an increased virus resistance to deformed wing virus (DWV) at the colony level. In this study, eggs from both naturally surviving and traditionally managed colonies from across Europe were screened for the prevalence of different viruses. Screenings were performed using the phenotyping protocol of the 'suppressed in ovo virus infection' trait but with qPCR instead of end-point PCR and a primer set that covers all DWV genotypes. Of the 213 screened samples, 109 were infected with DWV, 54 were infected with black queen cell virus (BQCV), 3 were infected with the sacbrood virus, and 2 were infected with the acute bee paralyses virus. It was demonstrated that incidences of the vertical transmission of DWV were more frequent in naturally surviving than in traditionally managed colonies, although the virus loads in the eggs remained the same. When comparing virus infections with queen age, older queens showed significantly lower infection loads of DWV in both traditionally managed and naturally surviving colonies, as well as reduced DWV infection frequencies in traditionally managed colonies. We determined that the detection frequencies of DWV and BQCV in honey bee eggs were lower in samples obtained in the spring than in those collected in the summer, indicating that vertical transmission may be lower in spring. Together, these patterns in vertical transmission show that honey bee queens have the potential to reduce the degree of vertical transmission over time., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Bovine mastitis a major disease that is commonly associated with bacterial infection. The common treatment is with antibiotics administered intramammary into infected quarters of the udder. The excessive use of antibiotics leads to multidrug resistance and associated risks for human health. In this context, the search for alternative drugs based on plants has become a priority in livestock medicine. These products have a low manufacturing cost and no reports of antimicrobial resistance to these have been documented. In this context, the main objective of this study was to determine the antimicrobial effect of extracts and products of several indigenous, or acclimatized plants on pathogens isolated from bovine mastitis. A total of eleven plant alcoholic extracts and eight plant-derived products were tested against 32 microorganisms isolated from milk. The obtained results have shown an inhibition of bacterial growth for all tested plants, with better results for Evernia prunastri , Artemisia absinthium , and Lavandula angustifolia . Moreover, E. prunastri , Populus nigra, and L. angustifolia presented small averages of minimum inhibitory and bactericidal concentrations. Among the plant-derived products, three out of eight have shown a strong anti-microbial effect comparable with the effect of florfenicol and enrofloxacin, and better than individual plant extracts possibly due to synergism. These results suggest an important anti-microbial effect of these products on pathogens isolated from bovine mastitis with a possible applicability in this disease.

We aimed at investigating the antioxidant, antiinflamatory, antiapoptotic and antigenotoxic effects of a Romanian Propolis (RP) extract in two concentrations (RP1 3 mg, respectively RP2 1.5 mg polyphenols/cm(2)), topically administered, either prior to or after UVB exposure, in a Swiss mouse model. Our results showed that both concentrations of RP extract, independent of the time of administration, significantly attenuated the malondialdehyde (MDA) formation and restored glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity. However, the 8-hydroxy-2-deoxy-guanosine (8-oxo-dG), nitric oxide (NO) and glutathione (GSH) levels were not influenced by UVB exposure and RP treatment. Interleukin (IL)-6 levels were significantly decreased by RP treatment, both before and after UVB-exposure. RP2 extract, in both regimens, significantly reduced the epidermal hyperplasia and dermal inflammation, whereas RP1 pre-treatment diminished only the dermal inflammation. The effect of our RP extract in terms of reduction of sunburn cell formation and of activated caspase-3 and TUNEL-positive cells was observed in both subsets of the experiment, RP2 having a slightly better protective effect as compared to RP1. The antigenotoxic effect of RP was demonstrated by significantly reduced cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs) formation. Our results suggest that RP extract might be a potential chemopreventive candidate by modulation of multiple UVB-induced signaling pathways in skin., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)