GC-MS investigation of the chemical composition of honeybee drone and queen larvae homogenate

Abstract Honeybee larva homogenate appears to be underrated and insufficiently explored but this homogenate is an exceptionally valuable honeybee product. Drone larva homogenate is very nutritional due to its high content of proteins, free amino acids, lipids, and carbohydrates. Moreover, the biological characteristics of honeybee larvae indicate the presence of chemical substances that may be pharmacologically active. In spite of the above, the chemical composition of honeybee larva has not gained as much attention as that of other bee products. In this study, the chemical composition of honeybee brood homogenate has been investigated using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. As a result, it was possible to isolate as many as 115 extractive organic compounds from 6 samples of crude queen and 9 samples of drone homogenate. The main groups of substances extracted from either type of homogenate were composed of free amino acids and carbohydrates. The relative content of amino acids in queen homogenate as well as the share of essential amino acids were found to be higher than in the drone homogenate. Disaccharide trehalose was the dominant sugar in the queen larvae, whilst glucose prevailed in the drone larvae. Comparative chemical analyses of honeybee queen and drone larva homogenates have allowed us to make a preliminary inference about a higher overall value of the former.