Biochemical properties of different Algerian bee pollen samples

Background Bee pollen is a hive derived product formed from the agglomeration of flower pollen, nectar and bee saliva. It's hailed for its potential health benefits such as antioxidant, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effect. Objective The present work aims to assess the Algerian bee pollen quality by highlighting their phenolic composition, their antioxidant, antimicrobial, enzymatic and antiviral activities, in addition to wound healing and Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) protection effect. Methods In this study, fourteen Algerian bee pollen 70% ethanol extracts samples were analyzed to determine their phenolic profils and biological activities. Thus, Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with Ultraviolet Detection RP-HPLC-UV is done, antioxidant, antibacterial, enzymatic, wound healing, DNA protection and anti-Herpes Simplex Virus 1 (anti- HSV-1) tests are carried out. Results The samples showed good antioxidant activity, variation in phenolic composition, selective antibacterial activity against Gram negative bacteria strains (Escherichia coli “E.coli”, Salmonella typhimurium and Yersinia pestis), inhibition to acetylcholinesterase and α-glucosidase and activation of Superoxide Dismutase (SOD). The samples P4, P7, P8 and P14 show high wound healing potential while P6 and P10 have DNA protection effect. Only P7 have anti-HSV-1 activity. Conclusion The different biological activities varied according to the phytochemical composition of each sample and not according to the harvest region. That is confirmed by Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and different correlations relationships between activities and bioactive compounds where it can be seen that the samples were grouped according to their composition and not by the region of the harvest.