Production and Quality Characteristics of Royal Jelly in Relation to Available Natural Food Resources

Dimitrios Kanelis, Vasilios Liolios, Maria-Anna Rodopoulou, Fotini Papadopoulou and Chrysoula Tananaki ()
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Dimitrios Kanelis: Laboratory of Apiculture-Sericulture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Aristotle Farm, 57001 Thermi, Greece
Vasilios Liolios: Laboratory of Apiculture-Sericulture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Aristotle Farm, 57001 Thermi, Greece
Maria-Anna Rodopoulou: Laboratory of Apiculture-Sericulture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Aristotle Farm, 57001 Thermi, Greece
Fotini Papadopoulou: Laboratory of Apiculture-Sericulture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Aristotle Farm, 57001 Thermi, Greece
Chrysoula Tananaki: Laboratory of Apiculture-Sericulture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Aristotle Farm, 57001 Thermi, Greece

Resources, 2024, vol. 13, issue 4, 1-14

Abstract: Royal jelly is a secretion produced from the hypopharyngeal glands of worker bees, which requires significant pollen reserves to stimulate gland secretion. The natural sources of food available to the hive during beekeeping season can greatly affect the quantity and quality of produced royal jelly. In this study, samples of royal jelly were collected throughout the beekeeping season, and their physical and chemical characteristics were analyzed to understand how natural variations in bee diet affect royal jelly production. Before each sample collection, the bees’ food reserves were removed from the experimental colonies so that the royal jelly was produced solely from natural sources. The results showed that the production was significantly lower during the summer months compared with spring and autumn. Additionally, the moisture, protein, fructose, and glucose content of fresh royal jelly also showed significant changes in the summer, and all physical and chemical characteristics decreased when the fresh samples were converted into dry matter. It seems that the quality of pollen entering the hives has a direct impact on the physical and chemical properties of the final product, highlighting the crucial role of available resources in stimulating bees to produce royal jelly.

Keywords: royal jelly; royal jelly production; available resources; moisture content; protein content; sugar content; 10-HDA content (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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