Abstract
Traditionally, melissopalynological and physicochemical analyses have been the most used to determine the botanical origin of honey. However, when performed individually, these analyses may provide less unambiguous results, making it difficult to discriminate between mono and multifloral honeys. In this context, with the aim of better characterizing this beehive product, a selection of 112 Lavandula spp. monofloral honey samples from several regions were evaluated by association of multivariate statistical techniques with physicochemical, melissopalynological and phenolic compounds analysis. All honey samples fulfilled the quality standards recommended by international legislation, except regarding sucrose content and diastase activity. The content of sucrose and the percentage of Lavandula spp. pollen have a strong positive association. In fact, it was found that higher amounts of sucrose in honey are related with highest percentage of pollen of Lavandula spp.. The samples were very similar for most of the physicochemical parameters, except for proline, flavonoids and phenols (bioactive factors). Concerning the pollen spectrum, the variation of Lavandula spp. pollen percentage in honey had little contribution to the formation of samples groups. The formation of two groups regarding the physicochemical parameters suggests that the presence of other pollen types in small percentages influences the factor termed as “bioactive”, which has been linked to diverse beneficial health effects.
Highlights
Lavender is the popular name for the plants of the genus Lavandula, Lamiaceae family
In the analyzed honey samples, all physicochemical parameters fulfilled the general honey quality standards established by the European legislation [38, 39], apart from diastase and sucrose content
It must be noticed that for some particular honey types like monofloral from Lavandula spp., current norms and regulations allow values of diastase activity between 3 and 8 Schade units and contents of sucrose until 15% [38, 39]
Summary
Lavender is the popular name for the plants of the genus Lavandula, Lamiaceae family. This genus contains many species, among which several are grown extensively in temperate climates for ornamental purposes, for use as aromatic herbs or for oil extraction. The Lavandula honey is greatly appreciated by consumers due to its pleasant aroma and flavour. Several research studies have studied the physicochemical and sensory properties of this honey, as well as those related to their bioactive compounds [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
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