Phytochemical, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties of several stingless bee pollen processed by different drying methods

Antioxidants play a crucial function in fighting free radicals that can harm biomolecules in the human body and damage cells, which can lead to degenerative disorders including inflammation. In this research, we evaluated bee pollen extracts from six stingless bees (Heterotrigona itama, Tetragonula reepeni, Tetragonula testaceitarsis, Tetragonula fuscobalteata, Tetragonula iridipennis, and Tetragonula pagdeni) for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory proccessed by different drying methods. The bee pollens were dried by oven drying at 40°C and chilled at 4°C, then extracted by ethanol. The extracts of T. fuscobalteata had the highest antioxidant by the oven with IC50 values of 36.47 µg/mL and T. reepeni by chiller was 41.30 mg/mL. The highest anti-inflammatory was T. fuscobalteata by the oven with IC50 of 39.70 mg/mL and T. reepeni by chiller was 34.30 µg/mL. These findings suggested different drying techniques have affected the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory of bee pollens and have potent material for food, medicine, and cosmetics.