Description

Bee bread is a mixture of pollen and nectar or honey. This substance is the main source of food for honey bee workers and larvae. The exact composition of the bee bread varies depending on the plants that the bees forage from. This not only changes at different locations but also with the seasons and even at different times of the day.

Scientists have found that the bees add extra secretions and micro-organisms (such as bacteria and mould) to the bee bread. These additions help break down some of the pollen and release amino acids and other nutrients from the pollen.

Bee bread will apply more and more as health food and medicine due to its functional properties such as antioxidative ability and scavenging activities of reactive oxygen species and its benefit in various diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and hypertension.