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The use of antibiotics is not permitted in Switzerland; moreover, no other medication exists to combat European foul brood. Hives with symptoms must therefore be destroyed in order to limit the outbreak, and the contaminated material must be sanitised. Since prevention is the best cure, early detection is desirable. Numerous studies have been undertaken and documents have been created at the Swiss Bee Research Centre and elsewhere to draw the attention of beekeepers to these problems and inform them about the causes and the control measures to be implemented.

Merkblatt zur erkennung von Bienenbrutkrankheiten (German (PDF, 357 kB, 18.10.2017) and French (PDF, 226 kB, 02.02.2017))
M. Tschumi (2011)

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids: the botanical origin of pollen collected during the flowering period of Echium vulgare and the stability of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in bee bread.

Institutional Repository Agroscope

Kast C., Kilchenmann V., Reinhard H., Bieri K., Zoller O.

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids: the botanical origin of pollen collected during the flowering period of Echium vulgare and the stability of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in bee bread.

Molecules, 24, (12), 2019, 1-14.

Téléchargement anglais (811 kB)

Résumé:

Previous studies have shown that pollen products sold as nutritional supplements and used in apitherapy may contain toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) if bees collect pollen from PA-containing plants, such as Echium vulgare. In this study, the botanical origin of pollen from two observation sites was studied. Despite a high PA content in pollen samples that bees collected during E. vulgare’s flowering period, bees were found to collect relatively few Echium pollen loads. Thus, the monitoring of pollen loads collected at the apiaries is unviable to estimate the risk of PA contamination in pollen or bee bread. In a second step, the stability of PAs in bee bread samples containing PAs at concentrations of 2538 ng/g and 98 ng/g was assessed over a period of five or six months, respectively. No significant PA reduction was observed in bee bread stored at 15 °C, but there were overall PA reductions of 39% and 33% in bee bread stored at 30 °C, reflecting hive conditions. While PA N-oxides decreased over time, other types of PAs remained relatively stable. Monitoring PAs in pollen products remains important to ensure consumer safety and should include echivulgarine (and its N-oxide), the major PA type found in pollen from E. vulgare.

ISSN Print 1420-3049
Digital Object Identifier (DOI): https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules24122214
ID publication (Code web): 41485 Envoyer par e-mail

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Pyrrolizidine alkaloids: the botanical origin of pollen collected during the flowering period of Echium vulgare and the stability of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in bee bread.