[Neurosyphilis or not - a case of a differential diagnostic challenge]. / Neurosyphilis vagy nem ­ egy differenciáldiagnosztikai kihívás esete.

We report the case of a 42-year-old woman with paraparesis associated with transverse myelitis. For differential diagnostics detailed microbiological, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and neuroimaging examinations were performed. Syphilis was confirmed, but diagnosis of neurosyphilis was only probable based on the CSF microbiological test results. The beneficial treatment response to application of the therapeutic protocol for syphilis supported the supposed diagnosis of syphilis-associated myelitis in our case. In this case report we reviewed the differential diagnostic tools of myelopathies/myelitis.
Nowadays regarding to growing prevalence of syphilis worldwide physicians should face on its presence and medical consequences.

Potentially toxic trace elements in bee bread, propolis, beeswax and royal jelly - A review of the literature and dietary risk assessment.

Scientific evidence suggests that apicultural products accumulate pollutants present in the hive environment, thus, they can be used as bioindicators. However, our understanding on the food safety implications of the presence of potentially toxic trace elements in these products remains incomplete. In our study, available data on the trace metal content of bee bread, propolis, beeswax and royal jelly, as well as their possible sources are reviewed. Furthermore, dietary risk assessments were conducted for elements that do not have any biological role in humans by comparing the estimated exposures with official reference values. In the case of elements with genotoxic carcinogen potential, the margin of exposure (MoE) approach was applied. The observed concentration ranges vary over a wide range for Fe (0.94-2125.20 mg/kg), Zn (

Investigating the Antioxidant and Color Properties of Bee Pollens of Various Plant Sources.

In our study, Central and Eastern European bee pollens of different botanical origins were compared, based on their antioxidant and color properties. Total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and in vitro antioxidant capacity (by FRAP, CUPRAC, ABTS⋅+ and DPPH⋅ assays) were determined spectrophotometrically. Besides, Relative Antioxidant Capacity Indexes (RACI) were calculated. CIELAB color parameters (L*, a*, b*, chroma) were determined by using a tristimulus-based instrument. Potential correlations between the investigated parameters were also identified. Based on the results of the preliminary study, ethanol:distilled water (60 : 40) was chosen as an extraction solvent. The total phenolic content of our samples ranged between 9.41 and 27.49 mg GAE/g dw. Pollens showed TFC:TPC ratios between 9 and 44 %. RACI values indicate that rapeseed (Brassica napus), traveller's joy (Clematis vitalba) and phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia) pollens have relatively high, while pollens of certain plants of the Asteraceae family possess low antioxidant potential. Antioxidant properties correlated significantly in most cases. RACI values showed strong positive correlation with each of the other antioxidant capacity parameters, suggesting that this approach is well applicable for comparing the antioxidant potential of bee pollens. No clear correlation was found between the antioxidant and color parameters.

Pesticide residues in bee bread, propolis, beeswax and royal jelly - A review of the literature and dietary risk assessment.

Due to pollinator decline observed worldwide, many studies have been conducted on the pesticide residue content of apicultural products including bee bread, propolis, beeswax and royal jelly. These products are consumed for their nutraceutical properties, although, little information is available on the human health risk posed by pesticides present in them. In our research, studies dealing with the pesticide contamination of the above-mentioned hive products are reviewed. Dietary exposures were calculated based on the recommended daily intake values and concentration data reported by scientific studies. Potential acute and chronic health risk of consumers were evaluated by comparing the exposure values with health-based guidance values. Available data indicate that a wide range of pesticide residues, especially acaricides may accumulate in bee bread, propolis and beeswax, up to concentration levels of more thousand µg/kg. Based on our observations, tau-fluvalinate, coumaphos, chlorfenvinphos, chlorpyrifos and amitraz are commonly detected pesticide active substances in beehive products. Our estimates suggest that coumaphos and chlorfenvinphos can accumulate in beeswax to an extent that pose a potential health risk to the consumers of comb honey. However, it appears that pesticide residues do not transfer to royal jelly, presumably due to the filtering activity of nurse bees during secretion.

Determination of Pesticides in Bee Pollen: Validation of a Multiresidue High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry/Mass Spectrometry Method and Testing Pollen Samples of Selected Botanical Origin.

Pollen is a source of nutrients for honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) and suitable for human consumption as well. In our research, a multiresidue method for pesticide determination was developed and validated for the bee pollen matrix. 247 components met the validation criteria for limit of detection, limit of quantification, linearity, and interday repeatability. Average recoveries varied between 70 and 120% except for 14 analytes, which were corrected during on-going validation. The matrix effect was strong for certain analytes, which required the use of matrix-matched calibration. The pesticide residue profiles of 21 pollen samples of different botanical origins were identified by the developed method. The most common active substances were chlorpyrifos, thiacloprid, and acetamiprid. Some products contained pesticides that are already banned. According to our estimates, the tested samples do not pose an acute risk on honeybees, although the combination of pesticides may cause synergistic toxicity.

Biscuits Enriched with Monofloral Bee Pollens: Nutritional Properties, Techno-Functional Parameters, Sensory Profile, and Consumer Preference.

Bee pollens are potential functional food ingredients as they contain essential nutrients and a wide range of bioactive compounds. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of enrichment with monofloral bee pollens on the nutritional properties, techno-functional parameters, sensory profile, and consumer preference of biscuits. Biscuits were prepared according to the AACC-approved method by substituting wheat flour with pollens of rapeseed (Brassica napus L.), phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia Benth.) and sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) at 2%, 5% and 10% levels. The macronutrient composition of the biscuits was determined: crude protein content (Kjeldahl method), crude fat content (Soxhlet extraction), ash content (carbonization), moisture content (drying), carbohydrate content (formula). Their total phenolic content (TPC) and in vitro antioxidant capacity (FRAP, TEAC, DPPH) were determined spectrophotometrically. The colour of the biscuits was measured using a tristimulus-based instrument, and their texture was characterized by using a texture analyser. Sensory profile of biscuits was determined by qualitative descriptive analysis (QDA). The consumer acceptance and purchase intention of the biscuits were also evaluated, based on the responses of 100 consumers. Additionally, an external preference map was created to illustrate the relationship between consumer preference and the sensory profile of the biscuits, and penalty analysis was conducted to identify directions for product development. Phacelia pollen appeared to be the most effective for improving the nutritional quality of biscuits. The addition of phacelia pollen at the 10% substitution level increased the protein content and TPC of the control biscuit by 21% and 145%, respectively. Significant changes (p < 0.05) were also observed regarding the colour and texture of biscuits. The results of the QDA revealed that biscuits containing pollens of different botanical sources have heterogeneous sensory attributes. The biscuit containing sunflower pollen at the 2% substitution level was preferred the most (overall liking = 6.9 ± 1.6), and purchase intentions were also the highest for this product. Based on the results of the present study, it is recommended to use sunflower pollen for developing pollen-enriched foods in the future.

Classification of Bee Pollen and Prediction of Sensory and Colorimetric Attributes-A Sensometric Fusion Approach by e-Nose, e-Tongue and NIR.

The chemical composition of bee pollens differs greatly and depends primarily on the botanical origin of the product. Therefore, it is a crucially important task to discriminate pollens of different plant species. In our work, we aim to determine the applicability of microscopic pollen analysis, spectral colour measurement, sensory, NIR spectroscopy, e-nose and e-tongue methods for the classification of bee pollen of five different botanical origins. Chemometric methods (PCA, LDA) were used to classify bee pollen loads by analysing the statistical pattern of the samples and to determine the independent and combined effects of the above-mentioned methods. The results of the microscopic analysis identified 100% of sunflower, red clover, rapeseed and two polyfloral pollens mainly containing lakeshore bulrush and spiny plumeless thistle. The colour profiles of the samples were different for the five different samples. E-nose and NIR provided 100% classification accuracy, while e-tongue > 94% classification accuracy for the botanical origin identification using LDA. Partial least square regression (PLS) results built to regress on the sensory and spectral colour attributes using the fused data of NIR spectroscopy, e-nose and e-tongue showed higher than 0.8 R2 during the validation except for one attribute, which was much higher compared to the independent models built for instruments.