Importance of Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids in Bee Products

Year 2017, Volume: 17 Issue: 1, 1 - 8, 31.10.2017

Görkem Ozansoy Özlem Küplülü

Abstract

Pyrrolizidine
alkaloids are one of the groups of harmful chemicals of plants, which are
natural toxins. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids found in about 3% of all flowering
plants of widespread geographical distribution are known as one of the
components of the hepatotoxic group of plant origin and referred as hepatotoxic
pyrrolizidine alkaloids. According to researches, bee products is regarded as
one of the main food sources in the exposure of people to pyrrolizidine
alkaloids. Consumption of pyrrolizidine alkaloids containing bee products, such
as honey, pollen, propolis and royal jelly, is a potential threat to human health, especially for infant and
fetuses. Besides the acute toxic effects, the genotoxic effects and
tumorigenicity potential of pyrrolizidine alkaloids was demonstrated. This manuscript
gives an overview about bee products containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids and
toxification processes in humans.

Keywords

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids, honey, pollen, bee products

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