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Neutral Sterols of Cephalic Glands of Stingless Bees and Their Correlation with Sterols from Pollen
Joint Authors
Ferreira-Caliman, Maria Juliana
Silva, Cláudia Inês da
Nascimento, Fabio Santos do
Zucchi, Ronaldo
Mateus, Sidnei
Source
Issue
Vol. 2012, Issue 2012 (31 Dec. 2012), pp.1-7, 7 p.
Publisher
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Publication Date
2012-10-30
Country of Publication
Egypt
No. of Pages
7
Main Subjects
Abstract EN
Sterols are essential molecules in the membrane lipid composition and precursors of important sterol hormones that regulate many developmental processes.
Insects are unable to synthesize sterols de novo and, thus, all phytophagous insects depend on an exogenous source of sterols for growth, development, and reproduction.
The sterol requirements of social bees are not fully known due to the fact that there is no well-defined diet available throughout the year with regard to floral resources.
Our study aimed to characterize the sterols present in pollen stored in Melipona marginata and Melipona scutellaris colonies, as well as evaluating their presence in the mandibular, hypopharyngeal, and cephalic salivary gland secretions.
We analyzed the chemical composition of pollen stored in the colonies and the composition of the cephalic glands of workers in three adult functional phases (newly emerged, nurses, and foragers) by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry.
The results showed that the pollen analyzed contained campesterol, stigmasterol, sitosterol, isofucosterol, lanosterol, and small amounts of cholesterol.
The glands showed the same compounds found in the pollen analyzed, except lanosterol that was not found in M.
scutellaris glands.
Surprisingly, cholesterol was found in some glands with relative ratios greater than those found in pollen.
American Psychological Association (APA)
Ferreira-Caliman, Maria Juliana& Silva, Cláudia Inês da& Mateus, Sidnei& Zucchi, Ronaldo& Nascimento, Fabio Santos do. 2012. Neutral Sterols of Cephalic Glands of Stingless Bees and Their Correlation with Sterols from Pollen. Psyche،Vol. 2012, no. 2012, pp.1-7.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-513430
Modern Language Association (MLA)
Zucchi, Ronaldo…[et al.]. Neutral Sterols of Cephalic Glands of Stingless Bees and Their Correlation with Sterols from Pollen. Psyche No. 2012 (2012), pp.1-7.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-513430
American Medical Association (AMA)
Ferreira-Caliman, Maria Juliana& Silva, Cláudia Inês da& Mateus, Sidnei& Zucchi, Ronaldo& Nascimento, Fabio Santos do. Neutral Sterols of Cephalic Glands of Stingless Bees and Their Correlation with Sterols from Pollen. Psyche. 2012. Vol. 2012, no. 2012, pp.1-7.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-513430
Data Type
Journal Articles
Language
English
Notes
Includes bibliographical references
Record ID
BIM-513430