Quantitative Analysis of Trans-10-hydroxy-2-decenoic Acid in Royal Jelly Products Purchased in Usa by High Performance Liquid Chromatography

Royal jelly is a milky-white colored secretion produced by the hypopharyngeal and mandibular glands located in the head of young worker honeybees to feed the larvae in the colony (Münstedt and von Georgi , 2003). If a queen bee is desired, a chosen larva will be provided a large quantity of royal jelly as its only food source, which induces rapid differentiated growth and morphology. Because of this specialized nutrition, queen bees are different from worker bees in several ways including their size, production of eggs, and longevity. Both pure royal jelly creams and dietary supplements of royal jelly are commercially available. These products claim various health benefits such as immune-regulation, anti-aging, cholesterol-lowering, antiinflammation, tumor vascularization inhibition, wound-healing, and antibiotic effects (Iannuzzi , 1990; Hashimoto et al., 2005; Salazar-Olivo and PazGonzález, 2005; Erem et al., 2006; Hat tor i et al., 2007). Researchers believe that such health benefits are attributed to various ingredients present in royal jelly such as B-complex vitamins, fatty acids, adenosine, and trace minerals. The most unique and chemically interesting component in royal jelly is its fatty acid, trans-10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid (10HDA) (Barker et al., 1959; Blum et al., 1959; Lercker et al., 1981; Howe et al., 1985). The amount of 10-HDA in pure royal jelly varies depending on the origin of the jelly (Fer iol i et al., 2007). Since other bee products do not contain 10-HDA, the presence of 10-HDA can be used as a marker to validate the quality of royal jelly QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF TRANS-10-HYDROXY-2-DECENOIC ACID IN ROYAL JELLY PRODUCTS PURCHASED IN USA BY HIGH PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY