Food supplementation with Reishi and Shiitake mushrooms extracts shows potential to improve bee health and ensure their survival.
Four years have passed since the start of the pioneering study in Catalonia ‘Improvement of honey production and obtaining new products with added value through the use of fungi with functional applications’ to increase the survival of honey bees (Apios mellifera). These essential pollinators are threatened not only by environmental factors mainly derived from climate change but also by the use of agricultural pesticides and the emergence of new predators, as well as the proliferation of viruses and parasites.
Bee health problems, together with the emergence of resistances that reduce the effectiveness of acaricides, create a critical situation. The pollination of agricultural crops, the conservation of the natural environment, and the preservation of biodiversity depend exclusively on maintaining bee colonies.
Therefore, the Forest Science and Technology Center of Catalonia (CTFC) in collaboration with Alemán 1897, the Eurecat Technology Center, and Claria Sat, initiated the study of bee food supplementation with mushroom extracts, since these fungi produce a wide range of bioactive compounds such as polysaccharides, triterpenes, flavonoids, sterols and fatty acids, among others, which may have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and antimicrobial activity against bacteria, other fungi, or viruses. One of the first conclusions, from a previous project financed by the Generalitat de Catalunya and the European Union, was that feeding bees with mushrooms improved their immune system.
Two examples of mushrooms with healthy potential for bees are Ganoderma lucidum, known as Reishi, and Lentinula edodes, also known as Shiitake. Thus, and in the absence of field studies conducted with a larger number of hives, the development of two solid bee foods based on Reishi and Shiitake extracts could boost the immune system of bees, thus increasing their defenses and, consequently, improving survival, especially during the winter.
Currently, the project ‘Improvement of honey production and obtaining new products with added value through the use of fungi with functional applications’, which has a total budget of 233,539.20 euros, has passed the halfway point. This project is funded through Operation 16.01.01 Cooperation for Innovation of the Rural Development Program of Catalonia 2014-2022.
Last modified: 8 August 2024
