Prevalence of microscopic fungi in bee pollen

Abstract

One of the problems with storing bee products – pollen – is their microbiological pollution. With high levels of pollen contamination by microscopic fungi, toxins synthesized by the fungi of some genera can have a negative impact on human health. During the experiment, the prevalence of microscopic fungi in pollen was evaluated, and their genera and species were identified. Pollen samples were collected at different times of the year – spring and summer – in order to ascertain the abundance and diversity of different fungal genera and species. The dilution method (CFU/g) was used to determine the number of fungal strains per sample and their amount. The total number of fungal strains in the pollen collected in spring ranged from 1.3 to 5.7 × 10^–3 CFU/g, in summer –1.0 to 5.8 × 10^–3 CFU/g. In the pollen, 11 genera and six species of fungi were identified. The number of fungal genera and species in pollen collected in spring and summer varied insignificantly. In spring, ten genera and six species of fungi were isolated from pollen, and in summer 11 genera and six species were identified. Penicillium and Alternaria fungi dominated the bee pollen.