Researchers of IPB Developed the Jelly Candy Plus Bee Pollen Bee
Team of researchers from Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) namely Prof. Ahmad Sulaeman, along with the student of the Doctoral Program of Nutrition Scicences, Mahani, and the student of the Department of Community Nutrition, Faculty of Human Ecology of IPB, Sonia Agustiani, did an innovation namely developed a formula of jelly candy with the additiom of Bee Pollen from Trigona spp bee as the functional food. This research was a joint research led by Prof. Ahmad Sulaeman.
“The bee pollen can be used as one functional food, because it has a complete nutrient and contains antioxidants. The contained antioxidants are able to slow or prevent the oxidation of other molecules and the occurrence of oxidative stress that can lead to various diseases,” explained Prof. Sulaeman. The bee pollen was the pollen of the flowers collected by the worker bees which had been mixed with the nectar of the honey wood and the salivary enzyme of the bees.
The research done consisted of several stages, among others the formulation of jelly candy with the addition of bee pollen, the organoleptic test, the physicochemical property analysis of the jelly candy products, and calculating the nutritional contribution to Nutrition Adequacy Rate (AKG). The jelly candy formula was made with the addition of bee pollen (2.5 percent, 3.5 percent, 4.5 percent) and with the addition of three types of flavors namely strawberry, orange, and melon.
The research result showed that all types of formulas were favored. The antioxidant activity of the jelly candy of the bee pollen was equal 43.29 – 120.29 milligram of vitamin C per hundred gram.
The jelly candy of the bee pollen contained higher protein compared with the other commercial jelly candy products. Other than that, it also contained the antioxidant active compound that could inhibit the oxidative reactions in the body. Through this research, it could be concluded that the jelly candy of the bee pollen could be used as the functional food, because it was beneficial for the health. (FY/ris)
