An alternative to acetolysis: application of an enzyme-based method for the palynological preparation of fresh pollen, honey samples and bee capsules

Acetolysis has been widely used for the preparation of modern pollen samples since its introduction by Erdtman. It has several disadvantages in both safety and resultant changes to the size and, in some cases, structure of pollen grains. The enzymatic technique introduced by Schols and colleagues is tested on a fresh pollen sample, a honey sample and a bee pollen capsule. The technique increases processing time, but is completely non-toxic, easy to complete and comparable in cost to acetolysis. Even very fragile grains are not damaged by this technique.