Evaluation of microbiological parameters in accordance with the Salvadoran standard of royal jelly NSO: 67.38.03: 05 using different techniques for the extraction of royal jelly from bees (Apis mellifera)

Abstract

The research was conducted at the Experimental Station of the School of Agricultural Sciences of the University of El Salvador, located in Tecualuya county, municipality of San Luis Talpa, department of La Paz. Three treatments were evaluated for the extraction of royal jelly from Apis mellifera bees: T1-Pneumatic pump, T2-Spatula and T3-Syringe, during the period from April 26 to December 8, 2019. Twelve beehives were randomly selected. A randomized complete block design was used, with a significance level of 5%. The variables under study were: weight of extracted royal jelly, residue of royal jelly in the equipment used, presence of Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp, presence of fungi and yeasts, and partial budget. The three treatments under study presented equal effects on the weight variable and differences (p ≤0.05) on the residue variable. The best treatments for this variable, according to Duncan’s test, were: T1 and T2. The highest amount of royal jelly extracted was observed in T2 with an average per beehive of 2.08 g ± 0.11 g, compared to T3 and T1, where 1.88 g ± 0.17 g and 1.98 g ± 0.45 g per beehive were obtained, respectively. The samples analyzed complied with the established microbiological parameters, with the exception of T2 (spatula), where the presence of total coliforms was evidenced in the first harvest (due to cross-contamination). At the economic level, the treatment with the best result was T2 (spatula), since in its partial budget yielded a net profit of USD$14.23 for production during three months, but only the necessary cost for the extraction of royal jelly was included. It is concluded that the highest average of royal jelly extracted per beehive was from the spatula treatment yielding 2.08 g ± 0.11 g. The royal jelly extracted in the study had the necessary conditions for human consumption, in accordance to the Salvadoran standard NSO 67.38.03:05, except for the samples obtained from the first harvest of treatment two (T2) (spatula), due the presence of total coliforms, not related to ETA? therefore, it was considered that it can be consumed without health risk.