Protein-lipid composition of silver birch (Betula verrucosa) pollen and its antioxidant activity depending on habitat

Pollen has various effects on the human body. In order to study and compare the biological activity of the mature pollen grains of Betula verrucosa Ehrh. we investigated the protein-lipid composition and total antioxidant activity (TAA) of 10 samples from different habitats in the territory of Ukraine and the Slovak Republic. The collection sites are near highways and apartment blocks, as well as a nature reserve, forest and botanical garden. The protein content was determined by the Kjeldahl method. A chromatographic analysis of fatty acids from lipids was performed using a “Cvet 500” gas chromatograph, equipped with a flame-ionization detector in the isothermal mode. The bioactivity of aqueous, ethanol and methanol extracts of pollen grains was evaluated by the DPPH free radical scavenging method (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) by means spectrophotometry in vitro. The protein content of the pollen of B. verrucosa ranged from 17.9% to 25.6%, depending on the habitat. Unsaturated fatty acids were found in higher amounts than saturated fatty acids. The profile of fatty acids indicates a higher content of palmitic (33.9%), oleic (29.5%) and linoleic (27.8%) acids and a low content of arachidonic (0.4%) and pentadecanoic (0.8%) acids. We also established that silver birch pollen is characterized by high antioxidant activity. The measured value of TAA for aqueous pollen extracts was within 74.8–85.5%. For the ethanol extracts it was quantified within 60.3–95.0% and for the methanol extracts – 46.1–92.6%. The Tukey test was used to determine the differences between the means at a level of P < 0.05. A strong correlation coefficient (0.70) was defined between the protein content and the TAA of aqueous extracts. In general, the Ukrainian and Slovak samples of pollen differ in the fatty acid composition of lipids and aqueous and ethanol TAA extracts. Pollen of B. verrucosa should be used for diagnostic, therapeutic and prophylactic purposes as close as possible to the place of origin.