Title : Irina Karadjova
Abstract:
Royal jelly is a bee product secreted from the hypopharyngeal and mandibular glands of young worker honeybees (A. mellifera) and it serves as a food for the queen bee and for the larvae growing up. Elemental analysis of RJ is of great interest from a nutritional and toxicological point of view and is mandatory in food quality control as far as RJ is a natural food product widely used in the diets and cosmetics. The purpose of the present study was quantification of Al, As, B, Ba, Be, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Fe, Ga, Hf, Li, Mn, Mo, Nb, Ni, Pb, Rb, Sb, Sc, Sr, Ti, Th, Tl, U, V, W, Y, Zn, Zr, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, and Lu in various RJ samples from Bulgaria. Analytical procedure developed consists of two steps: sample around 0.5 g is digested with nitric acid and chemical elements content determined by ICP OES and ICP-MS spectrometry. Royal jellies from different geographical regions were analyzed. Statistical analysis and box plots were performed using (SPSS Statistical Package, version 21 for Windows. Results obtained will be discussed from both viewpoints: the concentrations of chemical elements depend mainly on geographical origin of the sample or they have to be considered in the light of the suggestion that Royal jelly is a form of lactation on the insect level and shows homeostatic control of chemical elements content. Suitable statistical treatment will be used to identify correlations between essential, nonessentials and toxic elements in the samples. Acknowledgment: This work was supported by the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science under the National Research Programme Healthy Foods for a Strong Bio-Economy and Quality of Life approved by DCM # 577/17.08.2018
