The aim of this study was to compare the physichochemical composition of various bee products, namely, bee pollen, beebread, propolis, honey, and royal jelly. The samples (37 out of 53) were collected in Lithuania, several samples from other Europe countries (Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Slovakia, Poland, Spain, Republic of Malta, The Netherlands, Latvia, Ukraine) were used for comparison. Various quantities, such as pH, electrical conductivity, oxidation-reduction potential, NaCl content, refraction index, Brix value, total phenolic compound content, total flavonoid content and antiradical activity were measured. Together with the mentioned, the content of micro- and macroelements (As, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Se, Sr, V and Zn), ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy absorption spectra were analysed. To our knowledge, the literature data about comprehensive comparison of various characteristics of bee products are scarce. Also, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study revealing mineral content in Lithuanian bee pollen, beebread and royal jelly. The study exposed that bee pollen not only showed the highest values of pH, electrical conductivity and content of soluble solids, but also distinguished from the other samples by the highest flavonoid content (up to 48.3 mg/10 g), the absence of Cr, the presence of Co (0.011–0.100 mg/kg) and Sr (0.73–5.37 mg/kg) and the highest content of Ca (997–2455 mg/kg) and Mg (644–1004 mg/kg). Hierarchical clustering analysis was applied to group the tested samples according to the physicochemical analysis results and mineral content. The clustering analysis revealed that bee pollen formed separate group with the highest distance from the other samples in both cases.

Bee-collected pollen is one of the most valuable natural products. However, the pollen cell walls limit the digestibility and release of nutrients to the human body. Solid-state lactic acid fermentation can be used to ease the release of bioactive compounds from the pollen cell. The aim of this research was to determine the impact of a solid-state lactic acid fermentation process on biologically active compound composition and antioxidant activity of bee-collected pollen from various European regions (Italy, Netherlands, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Malta, Slovakia, and Spain). Spontaneous fermentation and fermentation using an L. rhamnosus culture were performed. The total content of phenolic compounds, total content of flavonoids, and radical (DPPH) scavenging activity were measured by spectrophotometric tests, while UPLC was employed for quantification of phenolic compounds. The determined fermentation positive effects included an increase of total phenolic content by 1.4–2.3 times, total flavonoid content by 1.1–1.6 times, and radical scavenging activity by 1.4–2.3 times. Naringenin (21.09–135.03 µg/g), quercetin (6.62–78.86 µg/g), luteolin (29.41–88.90 µg/g), and rutin (21.40–89.93 µg/g) were the most abundant flavonoids in all samples; however, their variation level was both geographical in origin and fermentation-type dependent. Fermentation increased the content of phenolic acids with high antioxidant potentials such as ellagic, ferulic and caffeic, while reduction of chlorogenic acid was determined.

The fourth digital revolution of industry makes substantive changes to the rate and methodology of work performance. Machines and robots do the majority of work in robotized and automated factories, while people only supervise them. After an increase of production efficiency, quality control became a critical point. Therefore, quality control systems of computer visions are increasingly installed. The branch of chemical industry requires measurements of quality at as great a frequency as possible. Consequently, indirect measurements are effectively used at this point. This research presents the method of indirect particle measurement. Particles are measured using digital image processing. The algorithm is used for particle measurement to automatically adjust the measurement results. Numerical intelligence is added to the algorithm to increase the accuracy of correction results. The research deals with the problem of matching the results of indirect measurements and the results of the control equipment. For data analysis, fertilizer diameter, mean diameter, aspect ratio, symmetry, sphericity, convexity and some other parameters are used. The mismatch of the artificial neural network results with the control equipment results is slightly higher than 1%.

Background/Objectives: A variety of phytochemicals from different plants are collected by bees into bee pollen granules. This research focused on evaluating the effects of lactic acid fermentation and enzymatic hydrolysis on the antibacterial activity of bee pollen and its interaction with antibiotics. There is limited knowledge regarding the interactions between treated bee pollen extracts and antibiotics, and this study contributes to the field by providing new insights into the antibacterial activity of pollen subjected to eight distinct treatment methods. Methods: Bee pollen’s bacterial fermentation using a Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus culture and spontaneous fermentation were performed. Bee pollen hydrolysis was performed using commercial enzymes, including enzyme mixtures as well as pure enzymes. The agar well diffusion assay was employed to assess the antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella enterica serovars Enteritidis and Typhimurium, as well as their interaction with antibiotics (ceftazidime, ciprofloxacin, oxytetracycline dihydrate, and erythromycin). Results: This study showed an enhancement in bee pollen’s antibacterial activity after both fermentation and enzymatic hydrolysis. The increase varied with the pollen’s origin, treatment type, and culture used for antimicrobial tests. More than 77% of bee pollen extracts demonstrated a synergistic effect with antibiotics across all tested bacterial strains, while antagonistic interactions were comparatively rare. Conclusions: The applied treatment methods can improve the antibacterial properties of bee pollen. Bee pollen extracts, in combination with antibiotics, can enhance their effectiveness. These findings provide new insights into the potential use of bee pollen in combating bacterial infections.

Bee pollen is a rich natural source of phenolic compounds and other bioactive constituents; however, the resistant pollen cell wall restricts the release of these compounds. This study investigated the effect of multi-stage bioprocessing involving bacterial fermentation, spontaneous fermentation, and enzymatic hydrolysis on the recovery of bioactive compounds from ten bee pollen collected from different regions of Lithuania. First-stage treatments included fermentation with Lactobacillus acidophilus, L. rhamnosus, L. reuteri, Bifidobacterium animalis, spontaneous fermentation, or enzymatic hydrolysis using Viscozyme^® L, cellulase, or Clara-diastase. Second-stage bioprocessing combined the initial treatment with either bacterial fermentation or enzymatic hydrolysis. Total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), radical scavenging activity (RSA), and inhibition of heat-induced bovine serum albumin (BSA) denaturation (BSA-DI) were determined using spectrophotometric assays. Statistical analysis demonstrated that multi-stage bioprocessing significantly enhanced the chemical composition and bioactivity of bee pollen compared with single-stage treatments. The greatest improvements were achieved when enzymatic hydrolysis preceded bacterial fermentation, resulting in increases of up to 5.0-, 4.2-, 6.3-, and 5.3-fold in TPC, TFC, RSA, and BSA-DI activity, respectively. These findings suggest that combining enzymatic hydrolysis with bacterial fermentation may be a promising approach for improving the recovery of bioactive compounds and selected functional properties of bee pollen.