Improvement of Nutritional Value and Bioactivity of Bee Pollen by Co-Fermentation Process of Lactobacillus Screened from Bee Bread and Commercial Compound Probiotics

Bee pollen is a nutrient-dense food; however, its dense cell wall limits the bioavailability and digestive absorption of nutrients. This study established a co-fermentation process that combines Lactobacillus strains isolated from bee bread with commercial probiotics to improve the nutritional profile and functional properties of bee pollen. L. acidophilus (LBA1) and L. plantarum (LBP3) were isolated from bee bread and used for single-strain fermentation of bee pollen and its co-fermentation with commercial probiotics. The results indicated that fermentation increased the protein, free amino acid, vitamin C, and flavonoid contents. The co-fermentation product (FHL-99) of LBP3 and the commercial inoculant (99 strains) exhibited the highest cell wall disruption rate (67.57%) in artificial intestinal juice. Ex vivo activity analysis revealed enhanced DPPH, hydroxyl, and ABTS+ radical scavenging capacities of fermented bee pollen. Its inhibitory effects on hyaluronidase activity and protein thermal denaturation were also enhanced. FHL-99 demonstrated optimal performance across multiple indices, achieving a DPPH radical scavenging rate of 77.46% and hyaluronidase inhibition rate of 37.38%. In conclusion, synergistic co-fermentation can disrupt pollen cell walls and enrich bioactive constituents, providing an efficient biotechnological approach for the development of high-quality fermented bee pollen products.