Investigation of the potential of extracts obtained by different methods from monofloral and fermented bee pollen samples in food preservation technology in terms of their physico-chemical, biochemical, and microbiological properties

The aim of this study is to determine the physicochemical differences of different monofloral (Castanea sativa, Papaver sp., Cistus sp.) bee pollen produced in Turkey, to determine the effect of fermentation and different extraction methods on biologically active component content and antioxidant activity, and to determine the effectiveness of micro-nanofibers obtained by electro-spinning method with the most active pollen extract on the shelf life of chicken meat. In this context, statistically significant differences were found between pollen samples as a result of physicochemical analysis. As a result of spectrophotometric analysis, the highest antioxidant activity was determined in unfermented Castanea sativa bee pollen ASE extracts. However, phenolic profile content was found to increase with fermentation in all pollen samples. According to TEM results, it was observed that the fermentation process disrupted the wall structure of the pollen from the aperture parts. The total number of lactobacilli was found to be 3.610 ± 0.073 log CFU/g in Castanea sativa pollen, 6.39 ± 0.057 log CFU/g in Papaver sp. pollen and 5.033 ± 0.009 log CFU/g in Cistus pollen. Fermentation process increased ferulic acid, coumaric acid, kaempferol content in all bee pollen samples. ASE extraction increased bioactivity more than maceration. Interest in natural antioxidants has increased and in this context, the use of fibers containing bee pollen extract in foods has been investigated. Castanea sativa pollen extract with strong antioxidant activity was preferred for fiber production with electro spinning device. As a result of SEM analysis of the obtained fibers, it was found that the average diameters of pollen-loaded PVA fibers thickened with increasing pollen extract concentration, and it was shown that they were randomly irregularly distributed. When the bands were examined by FTIR analysis, it was observed that PVA fibers overlapped with the peaks of pollen extract with pollen loading. As a result of coating the fibers on chicken breast meat, a statistically significant difference was found in TBARS value on the 3rd and 7th days and it was found that pollen extract added fibers were effective in preventing lipid oxidation. In the color analysis findings, it was determined that there were statistical differences in L* value during the storage process. This study is one of the first examples of micro-nanofibers containing bee pollen extract in food application and the results obtained are predicted to strengthen the place of natural preservative materials in the food industry.