# Bee pollen as a source of phenolic compounds in potato snacks

## TL;DR

Adding bee pollen to potato snacks increases their antioxidant content and nutritional value, making them a healthier snack option.

## Contribution

The study demonstrates that bee pollen can be used to fortify snacks while maintaining sensory quality and masking bitterness.

## Key findings

- Snacks with 1–5% bee pollen had significantly higher phenolic and flavonoid levels than controls.
- Snacks with 5% rapeseed and multifloral bee pollen showed the highest antioxidant capacity.
- Sensory analysis identified 3% multifloral bee pollen snacks as having the highest quality.

## Abstract

The study examined the effects of adding bee pollen to potato snacks on their chemical composition, antioxidant properties, and sensory characteristics. Bee pollen from six different sources varied in phenolics and flavonoid content and composition, antioxidant activity and color. The four bee pollens with the highest content of bioactive compounds were used in the preparation of potato snacks obtained by frying extruded pellets with 1, 3 and 5% of bee pollen. During snack production, total phenolic and flavonoid contents decreased by 4.76–65% and 69–80%, respectively, while antioxidant activity was reduced by 9–72% depending on the used level of addition and type of bee pollen. Despite this, snacks enriched with 1–5% bee pollen exhibited significantly higher levels of phenolics (1.3–2.6 times), flavonoids (2.0–4.8 times), and antioxidant capacity (ABTS•+ 1.6–3.7 times, DPPH• 1.1–1.4 times, FRAP 1.8–5.6 times) compared to controls. The highest antioxidant capacity was observed in snacks with 5% rapeseed and multifloral bee pollen. Sensory analysis highlighted snacks with 3% multifloral bee pollen as those with the highest quality. This research has demonstrated that bee pollen can be a promising fortification ingredient, improving the nutritional value of snacks while masking its naturally bitter taste, if used in relatively low percentages (< 5%). These findings supported the development of healthier snack options enriched with bee pollen for the functional food market.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s41598-025-09776-4.