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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Metabolomic Insights into Bee Bread Antiviral Activity Against Influenza A Virus
Karolina Matejczuk 1
,
 
Marika Mróz 2
,
 
Tilemachos G. Dimitriou 3
,
 
Barbara Kusznierewicz 2
,
 
Dimitris Mossialos 3
,
 
Piotr Szweda 1
 
 
 
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1
Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Gdansk University of Technology, Narutowicza Street 11/12, 80-233, Gdansk, Poland
 
2
Department of Chemistry, Technology and Biotechnology of Food, Faculty of Chemistry, Gdansk University of Technology, Narutowicza Street 11/12, 80-233, Gdansk, Poland
 
3
Microbial Biotechnology, Molecular Bacteriology-Virology Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, School of Health Sciences, University of Thessaly, 42500 Larissa, Greece
 
 
Submission date: 2025-12-27
 
 
Acceptance date: 2026-05-18
 
 
Corresponding author
Karolina Matejczuk   

Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Gdansk University of Technology, Gabriela Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233, Gdansk, Poland
 
 
 
KEYWORDS
antiviral agents
antiviral potential
bee products
flavonoids
phytochemicals
 
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Bee bread (BB) is a natural apicultural product that exerts a broad spectrum of biological activities, including antimicrobial properties. The identification of novel antiviral agents is of considerable importance in light of the ongoing global impact of viral pathogens, particularly the influenza A virus (IAV). This study evaluated the antiviral efficacy of eighteen BB aqueous extracts against IAV H1N1 using Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells. The cytotoxicity of the extracts varied significantly, ranging from 1.33 to 15.97 µL/mL. Real-time PCR analysis revealed a notable decline in a viral RNA copy number after the treatment with BB extracts, indicating inhibition of viral replication. The half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) of extracts ranged from 0.13 to 1.09 µL/mL. Selectivity index (SI) showed significant variability, spanning from 2.13 to 47.68. Furthermore, BB samples revealed total phenolic content (TPC) ranging from 4.08 to 6.10 mg GAE/g, and total flavonoid content (TFC) between 0.22 and 0.97 mg QE/g. A significant negative correlation was observed between IC₅₀ and SI, whereas no significant associations were found between IC₅₀, or SI and TPC or TFC indicating that activity profiles of the extracts were independent of phenolic and flavonoid contents. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography–high-resolution mass spectrometry (UPLC‑HRMS) profiling confirmed that bee bread contained a diverse set of bioactive metabolites, including flavonoids, phenolic acids, amino acids, lipids, and carbohydrate derivatives, supporting its potential as a multifunctional natural product. When combined with antiviral assays, these compositional insights suggest that the antiviral activity of bee bread likely results from the collective action of multiple compound classes rather than a single dominant group.
FUNDING
The research was funded by grant UMO-2022/45/N/NZ9/02710 financed by National Science Centre (Poland).
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
There is no conflict of interest, according to the authors.
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