The chemical composition of pollen, staminate catkins, and honey of Castanea sativa Mill.

The chemical composition of pollen and honey primarily depends on the botanical and geographical origin of the species, as well as other factors – climatic conditions, soil type, plant species, etc. The present study was to knowledge the biochemical profile of pollen, staminate catkins, and honey samples of Castanea sativa Mill. which were examined under conditions of Ukraine. Proteins are the major components of pollen and staminate catkins (169.0 ±1.60 g.kg-1 and 69.8 ±1.67 g.kg-1, respectively), while saccharides are predominant in honey samples (38.0 ±1.32 g.kg-1 fructose, 32.5 ±0.68 glucose g.kg−1 and 6.1 ±0.06 g.kg-1 sucrose). Glutamic acid (13.30 g.kg-1), aspartic acid (13.05 g.kg-1), and proline (12.45 g.kg-1) were predominant nonessential amino acids in the chestnut pollen. The content of macro and microelements was found in the pollen and staminate catkins much higher than in the honey. All Castanea sativa samples are a very valuable source of potassium as the main mineral element contained in pollen (7400 mg.kg-1), staminate catkins (7760 mg.kg-1), and honey (981 mg.kg-1). Microelements such as manganese and iron prevailed in pollen (478 mg.kg-1 Mn and 461 mg.kg-1 Fe), and staminate catkins (247 mg.kg-1 Mn and 109 mg.kg-1 Fe), and heavy metals (Hg, Sr, Sn, Sb, Li) are present only in the pollen samples with the most abundant Sr (12.8 mg.kg-1) and Sn (1.9 mg.kg-1) content and can be used as indicator suggesting the environmental pollution status in the region. Regarding the vitamin content, vitamin C was the most represented in all samples. Obtained results indicate that chestnut is species with important constituents such as amino acids and vitamins, with low content of heavy metals and high content of biogenic elements that may be used in phytotherapy and phytopharmacology.