Indicators of pollen quality during its stabilization

For bees, pollen pellet is a source of proteins, lipids, and vitamins and plays an important role in the development of the bee, as it serves as a complete food and is necessary for the normal development and survival of all the entire bee colony. Consumption of pollen by adult young bees ensures the functioning of their glands that produce royal jelly, enzymes and wax. Pollen pellet as a bioactive product of beekeeping is becoming increasingly popular [1]. The use of pollen pellet has considerably increased recently due to its special properties. It is not only related to phyto-and apitherapy, but also to scientific data showing that pollen pellet is a concentrate of bioactive compounds. The bioactive potential mainly depends on the high content of a number of compounds in pollen pellet, such as essential amino acids, antioxidants, vitamins, proteins and lipids [2, 3]. In different countries, a series of programmes was developed for the integrated use of pollen pellet and other bee products by the population as supporting, restoring and strengthening health products. In a fresh pollen pellet with a high moisture content, biochemical processes are active that affect the decrease in its biological value. Compliance with collection rules and the use of optimal methods for stabilizing the pollen allows to preserve its nutritional value and physiological activity. At present, drying is the most common way of preserving pollen pellet, but according to some researchers, other methods of pollen pellet stabilization also can be used. To date, the most extensively used method of stabilizing food products and bioactive substances is freezing.