The nutritional and bioactive aptitude of bee pollen for a solid-state fermentation process

Interest in bioprocess-based products has increased in recent years due to their applications and advantages. Solid-state fermentation, as a part of this technology, has been used in different industries, including food. Among the products produced with this type of process, bee bread is one of the most important. Bee pollen is a valuable raw material because of its nutritional characteristics, in particular its protein (10–52%), lipid (.15–20%), dietary fiber (.3–20%), and mineral contents, as well as its bioactive qualities related to the presence of vitamins and antioxidants, which ultimately should allow micro-organism development during fermentation processes. Pollen grains possess, however, a natural protection that greatly limits nutrient transportation to the exterior of the grain. In fact, bees naturally induce bioprocesses in the interior of their hive to make pollen nutrients more bioavailable. The objective of this work is therefore to review the characteristics of bee pollen, and its aptitude...