PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING, ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY PROPERTIES OF SEVERAL STINGLESS BEE POLLENS PROCESSED USING DIFFERENT DRYING METHODS

Antioxidants play a crucial function in fighting free radicals that can harm biomolecules in the human body and damage cells, which can lead to immunological disorders including inflammation. In this research, we evaluated bee pollen extracts from six stingless bees (Heterotrigona itama, Tetragonula reepeni, Tetragonula testaceitarsis, Tetragonula fuscobalteata, Tetragonula iridipennis, and Tetragonula pagdeni) processed using different drying methods for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. Each sample was divided into two specimens, where one was processed by ovendrying at 40ºC and the second was chilled at 4 ºC, then extracted by ethanol. The extracts of T. fuscobalteata had the highest antioxidant activity when dried in an oven with an IC50 value of 36.47 µg/mL, while T. reepeni using a chiller was 41.30 mg/mL. The highest anti-inflammatory activity was for oven-dried T. fuscobalteata with an IC50 of 39.70 mg/mL, while chilled T. reepeni was 34.30 µg/mL. Different drying techniques can affect the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity of bee pollen extracts as well as their potential as food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic ingredients.