5-Hydroxymethylfurfural

Abstract

This study was conducted to analyze ash content, mineral composition, hydroxy methyl furfural (HMF) content, stable carbon isotope ratio, and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis patterns to investigate the quality characteristics of various honeys harvested from different sources and to identify differences useful for distinguishing honey sources. Ash content was 0.046-0.012% in acacia honey, 0.565-1.318% in chestnut honey, 0.06-0.582% in polyfloral honey, and 0.237-0.893% in native bee honey. Potassium content was high in order of chestnut honey>native bee honey>polyfloral honey>acacia honey. The Na/K ratio was 0.92-1.97 in acacia honey, 0.02-1.59 in chestnut honey, 0.02-5.30 in polyfloral honey, and 0.22-0.51 in native bee honey. The HMF content was 9.60-12.85, 10.15-25.75, 9.7-33.5, and 6.25-21.5 mg/kg in acacia, chestnut, native bee, and polyfloral honeys, respectively. HMF content was the highest in native bee honey. A 59 kDa protein band was revealed in all samples by SDS-PAGE analysis. Protein bands of 32.1, 31.9, and 33.5 kDa were revealed in some chestnut honeys, and protein bands of 32.3 and 32.5 kDa were shown in native bee honeys. A protein band of 72 kDa was also confirmed in some chestnut honeys.