Pot-pollen supplementation reduces fasting glucose and modulates the gut microbiota in high-fat/high-sucrose fed C57BL/6 mice.

Pot-pollen is a mixture of pollen and nectar from flowers combined with salivary substances of stingless bees, which together are fermented inside cerumen pots. As pot-pollen is rich in polyphenols, we hypothesized that dietary ingestion could modulate obesity, glucose metabolism, and the gut microbiota in an animal model of diet-induced obesity. Male C57BL/6J mice were fed a low-fat/low-sucrose diet (LF/LS), a HF/HS diet or a HF/HS diet containing 0.1% pot-pollen (HF/HS-PP) for 12 weeks. In HF/HS-fed mice, pot-pollen supplementation decreased fasting blood glucose and increased glucose-stimulated insulin secretion without modifying weight gain, body composition, glucose tolerance, and insulin sensitivity. Intake of pot-pollen resulted in changes of the gut microbiota, including a decrease in the abundance of the Rikenellaceae RC9 gut group and Lactobacillus, and an increase in the abundance of Romboutsia. Correlations between genus abundances and metabolic changes in response to supplementation indicated that the gut microbiota contributed to the positive effects of pot-pollen ingestion on fasting glucose. Pot-pollen supplementation-associated changes in the gut microbiota composition correlated with the lowering of fasting glucose levels without modulating weight gain.

The use of alternative food sources to improve health and guarantee access and food intake.

To feed and provide Food Security to all people in the world is a big challenge to be achieved with the 2030 Agenda. Undernutrition and obesity are to the opposite of a healthy nutritional status. Both conditions are associated with unbalanced nutrition, absence of food or excess of non-nutritive foods intake. These two nutritional conditions associated with food production are closely related to some goals highlighted by the United Nations in the 2030 Agenda to achieve sustainable world development. In this context, the search for alternative foods whose sustainable production and high nutritional quality guarantee regular access to food for the population must be encouraged. Alternative foods can contribute to Food Security in many ways as they contribute to the local economy and income generation. Popularizing and demystifying the uses of unconventional food plants, ancestral grains, flowers, meliponiculture products, and edible insects as sources of nutrients and non-nutrients is another challenge. Herein, we present an overview of alternative foods - some of them cultivated mostly in Brazil - that can be explored as sources of nutrients to fight hunger and malnutrition, improve food production and the economic growth of nations.

Physicochemical characteristics of pollen collected by Amazonian stingless bees / Características físico-químicas do pólen coletado por abelhas amazônicas sem ferrão

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to determine the physicochemical characteristics of pollen collected by the Amazonian stingless bees Melipona seminigra and Melipona interrupta, in order to verify whether their characteristics meet the physicochemical requirements established by the Brazilian Technical Regulation for Identity and Quality of Bee Pollen. Physicochemical analyses were performed through official analytical methods. Results of pollen analyses collected by M. seminigra and M. interrupta were respectively as follows: moisture: 53.39 and 37.12%; protein: 37.63 and 24.00%; lipids: 10.81 and 6.47%; ash: 4.03 and 2.74%; crude fiber: 9.30 and 13.65%; carbohydrates: 25.66 and 44.27%; energy: 350.47 and 331.33kcal%; pH: 3.70 and 3.34; total solids: 46.60 and 62.87%, and water activity: 0.91 and 0.85. The percentages of moisture and pH in pollen collected by both studied bees are not in agreement with the Technical Regulation for bee pollen. Since some characteristics, which are inherent to the Melipona pollen, were not in conform to the current Regulation, we recommend that further studies should be conducted to better characterize it, and correct the Regulation, if necessary.

RESUMO: O objetivo deste estudo foi determinar as características físico-químicas do pólen coletado pelas abelhas amazônicas sem ferrão, Melipona seminigra e Melipona interrupta, para verificar se suas características atendem aos requisitos físico-químicos estabelecidos no Regulamento Técnico Brasileiro de Identidade e Qualidade de Pólen Apícola. As análises físico-químicas foram realizadas através de métodos analíticos oficiais. Os resultados das análises do pólen coletado por M. seminigra e M. interrupta foram, respectivamente: umidade: 53,39 e 37,12%; proteínas: 37,63 e 24,00%; lipídeos: 10,81 e 6,47%; cinzas: 4,03 e 2,74%; fibra bruta: 9,30 e 13,65%; carboidratos: 25,66 e 44,27%; energia: 350,47 e 331,33kcal%; pH: 3,70 e 3,34; sólidos totais: 46,60 e 62,87%; e atividade de água: 0,91 e 0,85. O percentual de umidade e o pH do pólen coletado por ambas as abelhas estudadas está em desacordo com o Regulamento Técnico para pólen apícola. Recomendamos que sejam realizados mais estudos para melhor caracterizar este produto e atualizar o Regulamento vigente, se necessário, pois algumas características que não atendem ao Regulamento são inerentes ao pólen de Melipona.