Phenolic compounds analysis by capillary electrophoresis (CE) of Chilean bee pollen with high metal content

Bee pollen is a conglomerate of vegetable pollen that bees bring to the beehive from flowers, where it is possible to find several molecules with interesting biological properties such as antioxidant capability. Chile has a native flora with great variety of species, the growth of which occurs even in the zones polluted with metals. Samples of bee pollen were obtained from potentially metal-polluted zones of Chile. Metal content was obtained by wet digestion of samples followed by ICP-OES analysis. Capillary electrophoresis (CE) was used for detecting and comparing the profiles of the phenolic compounds. The samples showed increased levels of Pb(II) (0.70±0.03mg/Kg) and Cd(II) (0.08±0.01mg/Kg), as compared with controls. Furthermore, 8 phenolic compounds were identified by CE, and shifts in migration times were detected for naringenine, rutine and caffeic acid due to the presence of the metals. Also, FRAP and DPPH activities in these bee pollens were lower than those in controls according to the results obtained by CE analysis. In this work, the relationship between metal content in bee pollens and the decreased antioxidant property is discussed.