# Physical and Microbiological Characteristics and Antioxidant Activity of Honey Bee Pollen
## 4 Discussion
epidermidis, [PERSON] warneri, [PERSON] pasteuri, [PERSON], and Lysinibacillus fusiformis_ showed AMR to both ampicillin and penicillin, while _Pantoea agglomerans_ was resistant only to penicillin. _Enterococcus faecalis_ was the only strain showing resistance to gentamicin and ciprofloxacin. None of the isolates studied demonstrated resistance to tetracycline. Antimicrobial resistance can be explained by the resistance of bacteria to antimicrobials, to which they were previously susceptible. Antimicrobials, called antibiotics, are important in human and veterinary medicine for treating bacterial infections [19,20]. Various antibiotics containing penicillin, ampicillin, gentamicin, and tetracycline are prescribed for the treatment of various diseases (pneumonia, bronchitis, infected wounds, sepsis, urological diseases, conjunctivitis, etc.). If microorganisms having antimicrobial resistance are present in a food product or its raw materials and further enter the human body, it may reduce the effectiveness of the treatment of infectious diseases, i.e., a particular antimicrobial becomes ineffective and does not produce the desired results. Although pollen is recommended for daily use to strengthen immunity, caution should be taken, as antimicrobial resistance was observed in some pollen samples in this study. Bee pollen is now considered to be one of the functional food items, with particular emphasis on the fact that it is rich in biologically active substances and has the ability to act as a natural antioxidant with beneficial effects on human health [3]. Therefore, it is important to determine the total amount of phenols and antiradical activity in pollen samples in studies, thus assessing which of the pollens analysed are the most valuable sources of antioxidants and are particularly recommended in the diet. Polyphenols are among the main bioactive compounds in bee pollen that determine their antiradical activity. Phenols act as natural antioxidants that fight free radicals. The content of phenolic compounds in pollen can vary significantly due to the diversity of plant botanical origins, as well as the period during which the bee harvested them [5; 10]. The profile of phenolic compounds in bee pollen can serve as an important quality indicator. Previous studies of antioxidant research in pollen have shown some correlation between phenol content and antioxidant capacity in pollen [10]. Among monofloral bee pollen studied, the highest phenol content (Table 2) was detected in pollen collected from autumn raspberry and rapeseed, whereas the lowest was detected in clover pollen. The differences in the total phenol content could be related to both the season when the pollen was collected and the botanical origin of the plant, which indicates that the pollen of this species is characterised by a low content of phenolic compounds when pollen is exposed to low temperature [30]. Based on a comparison of the total phenol content of monofloral bee pollen with that of multiifloral samples, it could be concluded that phenol content in multiifloral pollen was slightly higher. None of the multiifloral bee pollen samples analysed had a total phenol content of less than 15 mg GAE/g dw, while few monofloral pollen samples had a phenol content of less than 10 mg GAE/g dw. Antiradical activity in pollen samples was determined using two methods--DPPH and ABTS methods--both of which are especially suitable for the determination of antioxidant activity in natural plant extracts. The highest antioxidant activity (2.21 \(\pm\) 0.07 mmol TE/100 g dw) among monofloral pollen was found for the autumn raspberry pollen (AR), whereas the lowest (0.40 \(\pm\) 0.02 mmol TE/100 g dw) was found for the clover pollen (CL), using the ABTS test. The total phenol content in rapeseed pollen was the second-highest among all samples analysed, which might indicate a correlation between high phenol content and strong antioxidant activity.