Abstract
The phenolic and proline content were determined in honey samples of different floral origins (rapeseed, sunflower, buckwheat and Codonopsis) from five different regions of China. The phenolic and proline profile of these samples were used to construct a statistical model to distinguish honeys from different floral origins. Significant differences were identified among the studied honey samples from multivariate chemometric methods. The proline content varied among the four types of honeys, with the values decreasing in the order: buckwheat > Codonopsis > sunflower > rapeseed. Rapeseed honeys contained a high level of benzoic acid, while rutin, p-coumaric acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid were present at relatively high levels in buckwheat honeys. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that rapeseed honey could be distinguished from the other three unifloral honeys, and benzoic acid, proline and kaempferol could serve as potential floral markers. Using 18 phenolic compounds and proline the honey samples were satisfactorily classified according to floral origin at 94% correct prediction by linear discriminant analysis (LDA). The results indicated that phenolic compounds and proline were useful for the identification of the floral origin of the four type honeys.
Highlights
Honey is popular for its nutritional and medicinal values
The observation that the proline content varied with the type of unifloral honey is consistent with previous analysis of European and Serbian unifloral honeys [18]
Our results confirmed that rapeseed honey exhibits low proline levels [17,18]
Summary
Honey is popular for its nutritional and medicinal values. As a natural sweetening agent, honey is consumed directly, widely applied in the food industry, and used as a food preservative [1].Recent studies demonstrate that honey possesses many health benefits, including antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects, and heart disease and cancer risk reduction [2,3]. Honey is popular for its nutritional and medicinal values. As a natural sweetening agent, honey is consumed directly, widely applied in the food industry, and used as a food preservative [1]. Honey has a complex composition consisting of a high concentration of sugars combined with minerals, free amino acids, enzymes, vitamins, phenolic compounds and numerous volatile compounds [4]. These components highlight both physical properties and nutraceutical characteristics of the product itself [5]. Different unifloral honeys may have different functional properties due to their different constituents
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