Physicochemical Characterization and Antioxidant Activity of Royal Jelly from Northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina

With the discovery of the main bioactive compounds, royal jelly (RJ) takes a significant role in the food and pharmaceu-tical industry. One of the most important ingredients of RJ is 10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid (10-HDA). In this paper, ten samples of RJ were analyzed, which were collected from the area of northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition to 10-HDA, glucose, fructose, sucrose, and maltose content, physicochemical parameters were analyzed: pH value, total acidity, water content, protein content, and antioxidant activity of RJ. The obtained results show that samples of RJ meet international standards with regard to the content of 10-HDA. Considering the established quality and very high antioxi-dant activity of the analyzed samples (analyzed with DPPH and FRAP methods) they have significant potential in devel-opment of functional products with pronounced nutritional and biological capacity. This work is first attempt in estab-lishment of RJ quality criteria in this area.