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Pérez-Sanz AAuthorLucena JjAuthor

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March 6, 2023
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Article

Mineral composition of bee pollen and its relationship with botanical origin and harvesting period

Publicated to: JOURNAL OF FOOD COMPOSITION AND ANALYSIS. 119 e105235- - 2023-06-01 119(), DOI: 10.1016/j.jfca.2023.105235

Authors:

Valverde, S; Tapia, JA; Pérez-Sanz, A; González-Porto, A; Higes, M; Lucena, JJ; Martín-Hernández, R; Bernal, J
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Affiliations

Ctr Invest Apicola & Agroambiental CIAPA Marchama, Inst Reg Invest & Desarrollo Agroalimentario & Fo, Camino San Martin S-N, Guadalajara 19180, Spain - Author
Fdn Parque Cient & Tecnol Castilla La Mancha, Inst Recursos Humanos Ciencia & Tecnol INCRECYT F, Guadalajara, Spain - Author
Instituto Regional de Investigación y Desarrollo Agroalimentario y Forestal - Author
Instituto Regional de Investigación y Desarrollo Agroalimentario y Forestal , Fundación Parque Científico y Tecnológico de Castilla – La Mancha - Author
Univ Autonoma Madrid, Fac Sci, Dept Agr Chem & Food Sci, GMA UAM,Grp Micronutrients Agr, Madrid 28049, Spain - Author
Univ Valladolid, Fac Sci, Analyt Chem Grp TESEA, IU CINQUIMA, Valladolid 47011, Spain - Author
Univ Valladolid, Fac Sci, Dept Stat & Operat Res, Valladolid 47011, Spain - Author
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid - Author
Universidad de Valladolid - Author
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Abstract

In the present study, the mineral composition of seventy-one bee pollen samples from four different apiaries was determined by means of inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry. The results showed that there were no significant differences in relation to the overall mineral content per sample in terms of the apiary of origin or the harvesting period; the most common elements were phosphorus and potassium with concentrations ranging from 2.3 to 5.1 g/kg (dry weight). Moreover, the mineral content of the samples analyzed was similar to or higher than the recommended as well-balanced food for bees. Regarding the nutritional value for humans, bee pollen samples could be considered as a food rich in copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, and phosphorus. Finally, a canonical discriminant analysis was performed, and it was found that the apiary of origin could be distinguished by using the first three canonical functions; furthermore, over 90% of the samples could be correctly assigned to their corresponding apiary. The results were even better as regards the harvesting period, as only the first two canonical functions were sufficient to make a distinction between the different harvesting periods, resulting in a perfect match (100% of success rate).
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Keywords

acidsbiomarkerscanonical discriminant analysischemical-compositionelementsfood analysisfood authenticityfood compositionicp-oesmineralsphytochemicalsquantificationBee pollenBiomarkersCanonical discriminant analysis, food analysisFood authenticityFood compositionHoneybee-collected pollenIcp-oesMinerals

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal JOURNAL OF FOOD COMPOSITION AND ANALYSIS due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency Scopus (SJR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2023, it was in position , thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Food Science.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from World Citations provided by WoS (ESI, Clarivate), it yields a value for the citation normalization relative to the expected citation rate of: 2.07. This indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: ESI Nov 13, 2025)

This information is reinforced by other indicators of the same type, which, although dynamic over time and dependent on the set of average global citations at the time of their calculation, consistently position the work at some point among the top 50% most cited in its field:

  • Weighted Average of Normalized Impact by the Scopus agency: 2.11 (source consulted: FECYT Mar 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2026-04-03, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 13
  • Scopus: 15
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Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2026-04-03:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 51.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 51 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 1.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 1 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
  • Assignment of a Handle/URN as an identifier within the deposit in the Institutional Repository: http://hdl.handle.net/10486/708213
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Project objectives

El presente estudio persigue los siguientes objetivos: determinar la composición mineral de muestras de polen de abeja mediante espectrometría de plasma acoplado inductivamente; analizar la relación entre la composición mineral y el origen botánico y el periodo de cosecha; evaluar la variabilidad del contenido mineral en función del apiario y del momento de recolección; caracterizar el valor nutricional del polen para abejas y humanos en términos de elementos como fósforo, potasio, cobre, hierro, magnesio y manganeso; y discriminar el apiario y el periodo de cosecha mediante análisis discriminante canónico para clasificar correctamente las muestras según su procedencia y fecha de recolección.
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Most relevant results

El estudio analizó la composición mineral de 71 muestras de polen de abeja de cuatro apiarios mediante espectrometría de plasma acoplado inductivamente. Los resultados principales fueron: no se observaron diferencias significativas en el contenido mineral total según el apiario o el periodo de recolección; los elementos más abundantes fueron fósforo y potasio, con concentraciones entre 2.3 y 5.1 g/kg en peso seco; el contenido mineral fue similar o superior al recomendado para una alimentación equilibrada de abejas; nutricionalmente, el polen es rico en cobre, hierro, magnesio, manganeso y fósforo; y el análisis discriminante canónico permitió distinguir el apiario de origen con más del 90% de precisión y el periodo de recolección con un 100% de éxito usando dos funciones canónicas.
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