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J Insect Physiol

Title:		Floral tea polyphenols can improve honey bee memory retention and olfactory sensitivity
Author(s):		Gong Z; Gu G; Wang Y; Dong S; Tan K; Nieh JC;
Address:		"CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China; Center of Plant Ecology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Science, Xishuangbanna 666300, China. Eastern Bee Research Institute, Yunnan Agricultural University, Heilongtan, Kunming, Yunnan Province 650223 China. CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China. Electronic address: dongshihao@xtbg.ac.cn. CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China; Center of Plant Ecology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Science, Xishuangbanna 666300, China. Electronic address: kentan@xtbg.ac.cn. Division of Biological Sciences, Section of Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA. Electronic address: jnieh@ucsd.edu"
Journal Title:		J Insect Physiol
Year:		2021
Volume:		20201203
Issue:
Page Number:		104177 -
DOI:		10.1016/j.jinsphys.2020.104177
ISSN/ISBN:		1879-1611 (Electronic) 0022-1910 (Linking)
Abstract:		"Animal-pollinated plants face a common problem, how their defensive anti-herbivore compounds may impair or alter pollinator behavior. Evolution has tailored multiple solutions, which largely involve pollinator tolerance or manipulation, to the benefit of the plant, not the removal of these compounds from pollen or nectar. The tea plant, Camilla sinensis, is famous for the caffeine and tea polyphenols (TP) that it produces in its leaves. However, these compounds are also found in its nectar, which honey bees readily collect. We examined the effects of these compounds on bee foraging choices, learning, memory, and olfactory sensitivity. Foragers preferred a sucrose feeder with 100 microg or 10 microg TP/ml over a control feeder. Caffeine, but not TP, weakly increased honey bee learning. Both caffeine and TP significantly increased memory retention, even when tested 7 d after the last learning trial. In addition, TP generally elevated EAG responsiveness to alarm pheromone odors. These results demonstrate that other secondary plant compounds, not only caffeine, can attract pollinators and influence their learning and memory"
Keywords:		"Animals Bees/*physiology Feeding Behavior/drug effects Memory/drug effects Odorants Plant Extracts/pharmacology Plant Nectar/pharmacology Polyphenols/*pharmacology *Smell/drug effects/physiology Teas, Herbal Apis mellifera Caffeine Camilla sinensis Learni;"
Notes:		"MedlineGong, Zhiwen Gu, Gaoying Wang, Yuan Dong, Shihao Tan, Ken Nieh, James C eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2020/12/07 J Insect Physiol. 2021 Jan; 128:104177. doi: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2020.104177. Epub 2020 Dec 3"