The Pollen Spectrum of Apis mellifera Honey from Reconcavo of Bahia, Brazil

Abstract

Background: The use of pollen grains to establish the geographical and botanical origin of honey samples, and for supplying information concerning to the floral class of a honey produced in a region, has been employed since 1895. Pollen analysis has relevant significance for the quality control of a honey that may include numerous pollen grains and elements of honeydew. The objective of this work was to determine the botanical origin of pollen from plants contributing in the composition of honey from the region of Reconcavo of Bahia, Brazil. Methodology: Form each honey sample, a 10 g subsample was diluted in 20 mL of distilled warm water (40ºC) and centrifuged before the supernatant was drawn out. After centrifugation the pollen sediment was acetolysed following for better observation of the pollen grains. Subsequently, this sediment was mounted in microscopy slides with glycerin jelly for latter pollen grains counting and identification. The identification of the pollen grains found in the samples was determined by comparison with a reference collection from the Palynotheca of the Nucleus of Insect Studies from the Federal University of Reconcavo da Bahia and with descriptions obtained from specialized literature. A total of 70 honey samples of Apis mellifera L. were obtained from beekeepers of 17 counties in the Reconcavo of Bahia region, from March 2009 to February 2010, and palynologically analysed. Acetolyzed pollen were count and identified. Results: One hundred and twelve pollen types were identified, distributed within 35 families. Among these pollen types, 67.00% occurred with low frequency (rare) within the samples analyzed. Inside abundance class, 63.00% occurred as minor pollen. Mimosaceae was the richest accounting for 13.00% of the pollen types. There was similarity among the sources of trophic resources used by A. mellifera in the counties studied, with the highest similarity index of trophic resources found between the counties of Cabaceiras do Paraguaçu and São Felipe (Cs = 0.68). Conclusion: Pollen analysis demonstrated that honey produced by A. mellifera in the region of Reconcavo of Bahia, Brazil, is predominantly multifloral, with emphasis the Mimosaceae.