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Lipids in Pollen

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Pollen Chemistry & Biotechnology

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Abstract

Lipids are one of the three main components of pollen grains. A wide spectrum of these compounds is located in both the outer zones (pollenkitt, sporopollenin, exine) and the inner part of the grain. However, differences in lipid profiles have been observed depending on the pollen zone. While the pollenkitt layer contains a mixture of different neutral lipids, the inner zone mostly contains polar lipids, especially phospholipids, as part of the cell membrane structure. Among the lipophilic substances in the pollenkitt zone, there are volatile compounds responsible for plant-pollinator interactions, as well as repulsing agents against herbivores. In some cases, the volatile profile of pollen can be used to differentiate not only plant genera but even species belonging to one genus. Similarly, fatty acids (FAs), identified in different pollen samples, can be used as possible chemotaxonomic markers. In that sense, a great diversity of FAs (both saturated and unsaturated) was observed and confirmed in pollen samples (both floral and bee-collected). According to the available literature, 20 saturated, 12 monounsaturated, and 18 polyunsaturated fatty acids were identified and quantified in the pollen samples with different botanical and geographical origin. It is possible that some of the identified FAs originated from the microbiological activity of the bees’ gut microbiota or from the microbial activity during storage and/or processing processes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Belgrade, Faculty of Agriculture, Chair of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Belgrade, Serbia

    Aleksandar Ž. Kostić

  2. University of Belgrade, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Crop and Vegetable Science, Belgrade, Serbia

    Sofija Kilibarda

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  1. Aleksandar Ž. Kostić
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  2. Sofija Kilibarda
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Correspondence to Aleksandar Ž. Kostić .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food Processing, Bayburt University, Aydıntepe Vocational College, Bayburt, Türkiye

    Nesrin Ecem Bayram

  2. Faculty of Agriculture, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia

    Aleksandar Ž. Kostic

  3. Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Türkiye

    Yusuf Can Gercek

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Kostić, A.Ž., Kilibarda, S. (2023). Lipids in Pollen. In: Ecem Bayram, N., Ž. Kostic, A., Can Gercek, Y. (eds) Pollen Chemistry & Biotechnology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-47563-4_4

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