Abstract

ACOSTA-CASTELLANOS, Salvador; QUIROZ-GARCIA, Leonor; ARREGUIN-SANCHEZ, María de la Luz  and  FERNANDEZ-NAVA, Rafael. Pollen analysis of three honey samples from Zacatecas state, Mexico. Polibotánica [online]. 2011, n.32, pp.179-191. ISSN 1405-2768.

A melissopalynological analysis of Apis mellifera L. honeys from two municipalities in the State of Zacatecas, Mexico, is presented. The pollen content was determined, and the different elements were quantified. Honeys from the Municipality of Guadalupe presented 12 and 14 pollen types. The 2006 Guadalupe sample was monofloral; it presented a dominant component of Asteraceae pollen (61%) and a secondary component of Brassica spp. pollen (28.5%), Fabaceae reaching only 6.5% and thus being of minor importance. The floristic composition of the 2007 Guadalupe sample was similar in the three principal pollen types although the Asteraceae did not attain the 45% needed to be considered monofloral (Asteraceae 44.1% and Brassica 36.3% were classified as secondary pollen, Fabaceae 11.7% and Stenandrium 5.2% as of minor importance). Honey from the Municipality of Villanueva presented more diversity, having 18 pollen types. This honey was multifloral; Asteraceae (31.3%), Heliocarpus sp. (18.8%), and Ulmaceae (17.1%) were considered secondary pollen, whereas Fabaceae (9.9%) and Sapindaceae (9.0%) were classified as pollen of minor importance. Pollen from herbs and shrubs was predominant in the Guadalupe honey samples, and shrubs dominated insignificantly over trees in the Villanueva sample. In accord with the analysis, Guadalupe honeys (3734 y 4226 pollen grains/gr of honey) were classified in Group II and that of Villanueva (1508 pollen grains/gr of honey) in Group I. The families Asteraceae, Fabaceae (Lonchocarpus sp., Mimosa spp.), Ulmaceae, Sapindaceae, and Lamiaceae and the genera Brassica, Heliocarpus, and Stenandrium are all considered important apicultural resources.

Keywords : Apis mellifera; honey; melissopalynology; melliferous plants; Mexico; Zacatecas.

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