Speaker
Description
Beekeeping is one of the main branches of agriculture, Russia is one of the largest honey producers in the world, and ranks fifth among the world's leading producers. Bees pollinate more than 150 crops types, thereby improving the seeds and fruits quality, increasing productivity (90% of fruits, vegetables, seeds worldwide depend on the vital bee activity). Bees produce 1/3 of the food consumed by humanity. Every year the world produces 2 million tons of honey. At the moment, there is massive bee death problem. Since June 2019, a massive bee pest has been recorded in Russia - 40 thousand bee families have died (with a total number of 3 million). The problem is caused by using of antibiotics for the bee treatment, as well as pesticides for spraying agricultural fields. Wax, honey and other beekeeping products accumulate their decay products, subsequently saturating the honey with them.
To solve this problem, an immunostimulating supplement based on beta-glucans has been developed. This additive was used to increase the resistance of bee colonies to environmental factors, to ensure the honey safety and high quality. Beta-glucans in the feed additive have immunostimulating properties (the ability to induce a respiratory burst in neutrophils, enhances the NBT reaction, and induces the synthesis of a pro-inflammatory cytokine - interleukin 1).
The work was carried out within the framework of the research project No. 620142 "Resource-saving environmentally friendly technologies of bioactive food ingredients with specified properties from biological resources and secondary raw materials of plant and animal origin to ensure healthy nutrition of the population of the Russian Federation using food combinatorics."
Research materials: feed additive for bees based on beta-glucans, sucrose powder, distilled water; control and experimental samples of honey obtained from bees of the spring-summer generation (groups of the same age of honey bees from an experimental apiary of the Pskov Research Institute of Agriculture). Bees of the spring-summer generation of the apiary of the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution "Federal Scientific Center of Bast Cultures" (v. Kusva); entomological cages for bees. In the control group, bees received 60% sucrose solution, in the experimental group - sucrose solution with a feed additive. Research methods: The experiment included four groups of bees in triplicate (group 1 - control, containing bees received 60% sugar syrup, group 2 - bees received a supplement based on beta-glucans with food, group 3 - bees received together with double dose of beta-glucan-based supplements, group 4 - bees received a chitosan-based supplement with the feed). The bee viability was assessed by the dynamics of their death. To study the physiological state of bees, double dissection was carried out, followed by drying in drying cabinets (the effect of biologically active substances on changes in the mass and water content in different parts of the bee body). Determination of quality and safety indicators of honey samples in accordance in accordance with regulatory documents. The study was carried out at the Faculty of Biotechnology of ITMO University in the period from 26.06.2020 to 12.11.2020.
Conditions were created for keeping 4 groups of bees in triplicate. The bees were kept in entomological cages, keeping the room temperature at least 23 ° C. The bees were fed daily, taking into account the number of surviving bees. According to the results of the study, the life expectancy of bees in group 2 was 117.5 days, group 3 - 140 days, group 4 - 77.5 days. The control group showed a survival rate of 91.5 days.
In the course of research, it was found that the supplement based on beta-glucans does not adversely affect the quality and safety of honey. This honey is approved for sale without restrictions and is recommended for consumption. Also, during the study, it was found that the supplement based on beta-glucans, on average, increases the survival rate of bees by 38 days (1.4 times) in comparison with the control group. In particular, the applied double dosage of a natural immunostimulating supplement based on beta-glucans increased the lifespan of bees by 49 days (1.53 times), which shows the promise of using this supplement in the field of beekeeping to increase the bees lifespan and stimulate immunity.
| Affiliation of speaker | ITMO University |
|---|---|
| Publication | IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science |
