Biological activities of Royal Jelly and analysis methods for their evaluation

Abstract

Royal Jelly (RJ) is a secretion from the special glands of worker bees which serves as a food for queen bee and to the growing up larvae [0]. RJ has been used from ancient times for its extraordinary properties and positive health effects [0]. It is one of the natural products in which various functionalities. This study aims to review recent scientific findings and research that prove biological activity of royal jelly and to review analytical methods applied for RJ analysis. Literature shows that RJ is composed from different chemical classes of compounds such as proteins, lipids, sugars, vitamins, minerals, and free amino acids. RJ contains vitamins such as riboflavin, thiamine, niacin, folic acid, biotin, and pyridoxine and smaller amounts of vitamins C, D, A, and E. Moreover, calcium, sodium, potassium, copper, iron, zinc, and manganese are the main minerals in RJ [0]. The chemical composition of RJ indicates the presence of various bioactive substances including 10-hydroxydecanoic acid (10-HDA). For such a wide and complex chemical composition RJ has a broad spectrum of biological activity. According to the published data, RJ has the following biological properties: antimicrobial, antidiabetic, antioxidant, anti-rheumatic, antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, neurotrophic, antitumor, hipoglicemiant, hypotensive, hepatoprotective, blood pressure regulatory, anti-allergic, hipocholesterolemiant, general tonic, antiaging and etc. Biological activities of RJ are mainly attributed to the bioactive fatty acids, proteins and phenolic compounds [0]. Different spectrophotometric methods and/or tests are employed for evaluation of antioxidant activity of RJ; gas chromatography is applied for analysis of carbohydrates and lipids; total protein-nitrogen is determined by the Kjeldahl method and very important fatty acid, 10-HDA, determined by HPLC or capillary electrophoresis [0, 5]. [...]