Abstract: In the present study, the main chemical components of Chinese wolfberry bee pollen including total soluble sugar, free mono- and disaccharides, proteins, free amino acids, total polyphenols, total flavonoids and minerals were analyzed. In addition, the antioxidant activity was evaluated by using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging, superoxide anion radical scavenging, 2,2’-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonate) cation (ABTS+·) radical scavenging and metal iron chelating assays. The results showed that the content of total soluble sugars was 44.8%, the contents of fructose, glucose and sucrose were 18.4%, 15.2% and 3.7%, respectively, protein content was 25.0%, and the contents of total polyphenols and total flavonoids were 22.95 mg gallic acid equivalent/g and 21.17 mg rutin equivalent/g, respectively. Chinese wolfberry bee pollen exhibited significant antioxidant activity. Moreover, the antioxidant activity of different extracts from Chinese wolfberry bee pollen was in the decreasing order of supernatant from ethanol precipitation of water extract > water extract > crude polysaccharides.

Key words: Chinese wolfberry bee pollen, chemical composition, antioxidant activity