Abstract: Artificial diets with different protein levels were used to feed bees to explore the effect on adenosine content of royal jelly. Six trial groups were established by feeding diets containing different protein concentrations (15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 35% and 40%) and the control group was fed on rape pollen. Royal jelly was collected once every three days for determining adenosine content of royal jelly. The results showed that the highest adensine content was observed in royal jelly harvested at the 12th and 18th day from bees fed 35% protein (P ＜ 0.01 vs. the control), while royal jelly from the rape pollen group showed nearly the lowest adenosine content.

Key words: protein, diet, royal jelly, adenosine