Sunflower pollen good for bees; has medicinal and protective effects

It's been worrying about how fast people are declining all over the globe. The study suggests that for health and well-being, it should be given more access to sunflowers. The study was published recently in the journal Scientific Reports.

The study was conducted by North Carolina State University and the University of Mbadachusetts Amherst. It has been shown that these two different species of bees, which were fed to a diet of sunflower pollen had drastically lower rates of infection by specific pathogens. This sunflower diet also benefited Bumble bees, as they showed better nutrition than other fed pollen.

The study has shown that sunflower pollen leads to a significant reduction in infection caused by a particular pathogen (Crithidia bombi) in bumble bees (Bombus impatiens). Sunflower pollen also has a protector for European honey bees (Apis mellifera) from a different pathogen (Nosema ceranae). These pathogens have been involved in slowing down and increasing growth rates.

However, the study also suggested that the sunflower diet had a negative effect on the diet and was less likely to be affected than when it was administered to other animals. But this mortality effect was not seen in bumble bees.

Jonathan Giacomini, a Ph.D. student of applied ecology at NC State, who is also the corresponding author of a paper describing the research, said that these beefs already seem to have been successful at collecting sunflower pollen. Annually, nearly two million acres in the United States and 10 million acres in Europe are devoted to sunflowers, he explained, which makes sunflower pollen a ready and rising food source for bees.

"We have tried other monofloral pollens," said co-senior author Rebecca Irwin, who is a professor of applied ecology at NC State. "None of the others we've had this positive positive effect on bumble bee health."

Sunflower pollen is also quite low in protein and some amino acids, and should not be considered as a standalone meal for bees, Irwin said. "But sunflower could be a good addition to a diverse wildflower population for bees," she added, particularly generalists like bumble bees and honey bees.

The next step for NC State researchers would likely be followed by other positive effects of sunflower pollen and to determine the mechanism behind the positive effects of sunflower pollen.

"We do not know if sunflower pollen is helping us fight off pathogens or sunflower pollen does something to the pathogens," Irwin said.