Antioxidative Properties of Bee Pollen Extracts Examined by EPR Spectroscopy

Bee pollen is a valuable and highly recognized source of exogenous antioxidants. The aim of these studies was to determine the antioxidant capacity of three types of bee pollen extracts: ethanol extracts of bee pollen, pepsin extracts of bee pollen and ethanol extracts of pepsin-digested bee pollen. Their antioxidant properties were determined with the use of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and their ability to quench DPPH free radicals was estimated. The EPR results showed that ethanol extracts of pepsin-digested bee pollen (EEPP) had the highest antioxidative effect and the highest free radical DPPH scavenging potential. The pepsin extracts of bee pollen (PEP) had the weakest antioxidant capacity. The ability to quench DPPH free radicals was also the weakest one for this extract. An average antioxidative effect was recorded for ethanol extracts of bee pollen (EEP).