Exploratory Proteomic Analysis of Rhododendron ponticum Bee Pollen Based on High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry

Bee pollen is a bee product that is widely preferred by people for its nutritional properties as well as its health-protective properties, and is defined as a ‘superfood’. In this preliminary exploratory study, monofloral Rhododendron ponticum bee pollen was analyzed using a label-free LC-QTOF-MS proteomic approach. According to the results obtained, a total of 37 proteins from the rhododendron plant have been fully confirmed in the pollen sample. Normalized spectrum counting values (NSAF) providing information about the semi-quantitative amount of these proteins were determined to be between 120.84 and 43259.22. Based on these findings, it can be said that the proteomic approach can provide biomarkers for monitoring the botanical source and quality of monofloral bee pollen. However, since no biological or technical replicate study was conducted, the findings obtained are exploratory in nature and should be considered semi-quantitative. To our knowledge, this study is the first to report the protein profile of R. ponticum bee pollen using a proteomic approach.