## 3 Results and Discussion
### Determination of Total Fatty Acids in Bee Products  
Fatty acids play an essential role in human diet and health. A high amount of lipids may provide abundant fatty acids. The fatty acid composition of bee products mostly depends on the botanical and geographical origin, as well as on the used methodology for isolation and extraction of fatty acids [13; 14]. The method developed in this study was employed for the determination of saturated/unsaturated fatty acids, and the ratio of total unsaturated/saturated fatty acid (TUS/TS) in four different bee products (honey, bee pollen, bee bread, and propolis). All investigated fatty acids were identified by their retention times. The typical chromatogram of the bee products was shown in Figure 2, and fatty acids contents were summarized in Figure 3.  
Figure 2: Gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID) chromatograms of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) standard and fatty acids derivatives extracted from honey, bee pollen, bee bread, and propolis. The obtained fatty acids derivatives are marked as 1—Methyl butyrate; 2—Meethyl hexanoate; 3—Methyl octanoate; 4—Methyl decanoate; 5—Methyl laurate; 6—Methyl tridecanoate; 7—Methyl myristate; 8—Myristoleic acid methyl ester; 9—Methyl pentadecanoate; 10—Cis-10-pentadecanoic acid methyl ester; 11-Methyl palmitate; 12—Methyl palmitate; 13—Methyl heptadecanoate; 14—Cis-10-heptadecanoic acid methyl ester 15—Methyl stearate; 16—Trans-9-elaidic acid methyl ester; 17—Cis-9-oleic acid methyl ester; 18—Methyl linoleate; 20—Methyl nradachidate; 21—Gamma-linolenic acid methyl ester; 22—Methyl eicosanoate; 23—Methyl linolenate; 24—Cis-11,14-eicosadienoic acid methyl ester; 26—Methyl beenate; 30—Cis-11,14,17-eicotrienoic acid methyl ester;33—Cis-13,16-docosadienoic acid methyl ester; 34—Methyl lignoacetate; 35—Methyl cis-5,8,11,14,17-eicosapentaenoate; 36—Methyl nervonate; 37—Cis-4,7,10,13,16,19-docosakahexaenoic acid methyl ester. Qualitative analysis of fatty acids was performed by evaluating the chromatograms of all products and recording the retention times of fatty acids compared to the standard chromatogram, thus identifying the number of different fatty acids in the test products. The results of the qualitative analysis of fatty acids are presented in Table 2. The results of the qualitative analysis of fatty acids are presented in Table 2. It was found that the total number of fatty acids in bee pollen was 22, in bee bread was 21, in propolisis was 22, and in honey was eight (Table 2). The highest number of TSFA was found in propolisis (12 RR) and lowest - in honey (6 RR). The highest number of TUSFA (14 RR) was found in pollen, and the lowest (2 RR) in honey (Table 2). One trans-fatty acid was found in propolisis. After comparing results of the research with the data obtained by other scientists, it was noticed that Lithuanian scientists have detected 42 fatty acids in bee pollen and 39 RR in bee bread. However, the marked differences of results are due to a fact that the study conducted by these researchers used the FAME standard, which contains more than 50 different fatty acid methyl esters. Figure 3: The quantitative amount (expressed in percentage) of fatty acid and composition ((**A**) Total Saturated Fatty Acid, (**B**) Total Unsaturated Fatty Acid, (**C**) Total Omega-3, and (**D**) Omega-6 Fatty Acid) in propolisis, bee bread, bee pollen, and honey, (\(n=6\)). Different letters in each column denote statistical difference at \(p\leq 0.05\). The amount of total saturated fatty acids (TSFA) varied between 0.51 to 1.82% in bee products (Figure 3). The highest yield of TSFA was from bee pollen, whereas the lowest yield was from honey. The obtained yield of TSFA in bee pollen was in agreement with the literature [15]. Moreover, it could be considerable differences in fat composition of bee pollen, depending on the botanical origin and according to the literature; the TSFA yield could vary between 1 to 13 g/100 g dry weight [16]. Moreover, no statistical difference was revealed among bee bread and propolisols.