Technical Area

The present invention relates to methods for making innovative bee bread (perga) with natural fermentation of bee pollen by using starter culture consisting of fructophilic lactic acid bacteria and yeasts in fermentation as a result of appropriate fermentation time, fermentation temperature, fermentation method and appropriate oxygen conditions by simulating natural fermentation conditions in the hive.

Background of the invention

Bee bread, also known as 'perga', is a bee product produced by worker bees by fermenting pollen collected from flowers through various processes. This product, which is the main food for the queen bee, worker bees and baby bees, is stored by the bees in the honeycomb cells. Bee bread, which constitutes the first food of the baby bees that have just emerged from the pupa, is also known as "baby bee food" due to this feature.

In short, bee bread, which is obtained at the end of a process also known as "fermentation of pollen with honey", is highly preferred because it is seen as a natural source of vitamins and minerals and its consumption is increasing day by day by users. Moreover, bee bread contains plenty of protein as well as vitamins and minerals. Like bee pollen, bee bread should be stored at +4°C when fresh or dried. For this reason, it is mostly available in the market as capsules or in dried form on the shelves. Bee bread should be dried and consumed under the right conditions and its shelf life should be taken into consideration when consuming it.

Honey bees collect nectar and pollen from plants to feed their colonies and maintain their vitality. Nectar provides carbohydrates and pollen provides proteins, lipids, vitamins and minerals. However, bees cannot consume nectar and pollen directly. Both forms need to undergo biochemical modification. For this reason, nectar is transformed into honey and pollen into bee bread.

Bee bread is essentially fermented and naturally preserved bee pollen. The pollen to be made into bee bread is collected from flowers by worker bees and brought to the hive to feed the baby bees. It is then fermented with bees' enzymes, lactic acid bacteria and some honey and protected with a layer of beeswax.

Bee bread has anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, anticancer and immune supportive effects with its probiotic and prebiotic properties, protein, amino acid, fatty acid, carbohydrate, vitamin, mineral, organic acid, flavanoid and phenolic components.

Some studies show that the fermentation process is necessary for the modification of the exine layer on pollen based on sporopollenin, which provides chemical resistance to pollen, protects the compounds in pollen and limits the digestion of bioactive substances in pollen. Fermentation breaks down the exine layer on the outside of the bee pollen. Therefore, the digestibility of nutrients is highly increased and nutrients can be utilized more than in pollen.

Traditional bee bread harvesting is done with two different methods in two periods of the year. In the first method, the bee bread is removed one by one from the combs with the help of an apparatus and then dried. In the second method, the combs are collected from the hives, frozen in the freezer, then ground, sieved and dried. Traditional bee bread harvesting is considered costly and laborious by beekeepers due to these processes and the deterioration of beehives. Therefore, despite the demand in the bee products market, bee bread is available in limited quantities. In addition, an average of 20 kg of bee pollen and 1 kg of bee bread are obtained in a hive in 1 year. This situation shows that bee bread is obtained from bee pollen with low yield. In addition, it is seen that bee bread harvested from different regions and delivered to consumers have different standards due to the effect of environmental conditions on bee bread. All these difficulties in the harvesting and transportation of traditional bee bread to the consumer show that an innovative way for the production of bee bread is required.

The invention is an innovative method of simulating and improving pollen fermentation in the hive for the production of bee bread.

Bee bread obtained as a result of fermentation of bee pollen with the innovative method can be used in food, cosmetics and bee products industry. Bee bread can be used in the food industry in raw form like other bee products, as well as in muesli bars, sports drinks, hazelnut and peanut butter, spreadable chocolate, chocolate and confectionery, bakery products and dairy products by making the product functional or increasing its functional properties. Bee bread produced with innovative methods can be integrated into hand, face and body cream, lip balm, sunscreen, face and eye contour serum in the cosmetics sector and used for its antioxidant, antimicrobial properties, vitamins and minerals and organic acids.

The bee bread available in the market consists of bee bread produced in the hive and produced by traditional methods. When bee bread is obtained by fermentation of pollen in the hive, it is considered laborious to harvest by beekeepers and is produced with low yield compared to bee pollen. Bee bread produced by the innovative method (innovative), on the other hand, can be produced with high efficiency throughout the year in food production facilities with the solid state fermentation method. Due to the starter culture used in the fermentation of bee bread produced by the innovative method (innovative), its microbial stability is longer than bee bread produced in the hive. In addition, the starter culture used in the fermentation of bee bread produced by the innovative method increases the functionality of the product.

Bee bread commercially available in the market cannot have stable nutritional content because it is a mixture of bee bread harvested from different regions. The innovative bee bread produced by the innovative method is obtained by fermentation of the best quality bee pollen harvested from certain regions. In traditional bee bread production, bee bread is harvested with an average yield of 5% from the pollen brought to the hive, while in the innovative bee bread production method, bee bread is produced with a yield of over 90%. Due to the fact that bee bread can be produced with a much higher yield compared to the traditional production method, bee bread produced with the innovative method can be produced at 1/10 lower cost.

Another advantage of bee bread produced with the innovative method is that it is obtained from bee pollen harvested without any damage to the hive with traps placed in the hive. In the harvesting of bee bread from the hive, the integrity of the hive may be compromised and the production of other products may be limited.

The structural and characteristic features and all the advantages of the invention will be more clearly understood by the figures given below and the detailed description written with references to these figures, and therefore this evaluation should be made by taking these figures and detailed description into consideration.

Figures to help explain the invention

Figure 1 : Flow diagram of the innovative method of making bee bread (perga) by natural fermentation of bee pollen

Explanation of the invention:

The present invention relates to innovative methods of making innovative bee bread (perga) by natural fermentation of bee pollen and bee bread is obtained in two different ways.

Process steps of the first way;

• Incubation of Lactobacillus kunkeei AP2, Lactobacillus kunkeei AP8, Lactobacillus kunkeei AP13, Lactobacillus kunkeei AP15, Lactobacillus kunkeei AP16, Lactobacillus kunkeei AP25, Lactobacillus kunkeei AP27, Lactobacillus kunkeei AP29, Lactobacillus kunkeei AP30, Lactobacillus kunkeei AP31 , Lactobacillus kunkeei AP35, Lactobacillus kunkeei AP37, Lactobacillus kunkeei AP39, Lactobacillus kunkeei AP41 , Lactobacillus kunkeei AP42, Lactobacillus kunkeei AP43, Fructobacillus fructosus AP44, Lactobacillus plantarum AP52, Lactobacillus kunkeei AP55, Lactobacillus kunkeei AP56, Fructobacillus fructosus AP58 and Fructobacillus fructosus AP61 fructophilic lactic acid bacteria used as starter cultures in pollen fermentation in FYP liquid medium; of Leuconostoc mesenteroides AP40 and Lactobacillus plantarum AP4 lactic acid bacteria in MRS liquid medium; Starmeralla magnolia MP-2, Zygosaccharomyces siamensis MP-14 yeasts in PDB liquid medium at 30°C for 1 day,

• to centrifuge the cultures at 3500 rpm, 24°C for 10 min after incubation, and then remove the supernatant.

• to add 10 ml of FTS to the pellet, vortex for 10 seconds and centrifuge again at 3500 rpm, 24°C for 10 min.

• to then adjust the cell count with sterile distilled water so that the concentration of the indicated bacteria and yeasts in the final product is 10 ⁸ cfu/ml.

• then the creation of a starter culture from a mixed combination of bacteria and yeasts in the specified combination.

• to use bee pollen brought from the hive to the laboratory and stored at -18°C for fermentation.

• to add distilled water containing 25% of the total volume of mixed starter culture to 10 grams of bee pollen in glass jars and mix until homogenized.

• to ferment the material aerobically at 30°C in an incubator for 7 days and the following 5 days drying at 30°C, spreading from the glass jar to the petri dish.

• to obtain bee bread produced by the innovative method (innovative) after the drying process and stored at +4 C.

Process steps of the other way;

• Incubation of Lactobacillus kunkeei AP2, Lactobacillus kunkeei AP8,

Lactobacillus kunkeei AP13, Lactobacillus kunkeei AP15, Lactobacillus kunkeei AP16, Lactobacillus kunkeei AP25, Lactobacillus kunkeei AP27, Lactobacillus kunkeei AP29, Lactobacillus kunkeei AP30, Lactobacillus kunkeei AP31 , Lactobacillus kunkeei AP35, Lactobacillus kunkeei AP37, Lactobacillus kunkeei AP39, Lactobacillus kunkeei AP41 , Lactobacillus kunkeei AP42, Lactobacillus kunkeei AP43, Fructobacillus fructosus AP44, Lactobacillus plantarum AP52, Lactobacillus kunkeei AP55, Lactobacillus kunkeei AP56, Fructobacillus fructosus AP58 and Fructobacillus fructosus AP61 fructophilic lactic acid bacteria used as starter cultures in pollen fermentation in FYP liquid medium; of Leuconostoc mesenteroides AP40 and Lactobacillus plantarum AP4 lactic acid bacteria in MRS liquid medium; Starmeralla magnolia MP-2, Zygosaccharomyces siamensis MP-14 yeasts in PDB liquid medium at 30°C for 1 day,

• to centrifuge the cultures at 3500 rpm, 24°C for 10 min after incubation, and then remove the supernatant

• to add 10 ml of FTS to the pellet, vortex for 10 seconds and centrifuge again at 3500 rpm, 24°C for 10 min,

• Then to adjust the cell count to 10 ⁸ cfu/ml for the indicated bacteria and 10 ⁷ cfu/ml for yeasts with sterile distilled water.

• Then the creation of a starter culture from a mixed combination of bacteria and yeasts in the specified combination,

• to use bee pollen brought from the hive to the laboratory and stored at -18°C for fermentation

• to add distilled water containing 25% of the total volume of mixed starter culture to 10 grams of bee pollen in glass jars and mix until homogenized

• to ferment the material aerobically at 30°C in an incubator for 7 days and the following 5 days drying at 30°C, spreading from the glass jar to the petri dish.

• to obtain bee bread produced by the innovative method after the drying process and stored at +4 C.

The technical and all other features mentioned in each claim are followed by a reference number, and this reference number is used only to facilitate understanding of the claims, and therefore should not be considered to limit the scope of the element indicated by this reference number for illustrative purposes.

It is obvious that a person skilled in the art can also demonstrate the novelty set forth in the invention by using similar embodiments and/or can apply this embodiment to other fields of similar purpose used in the relevant art. Therefore, it is also obvious that such constructions will lack the criterion of exceeding the novelty.