Abstract
Abstract: Five physicochemical parameters (water content, electrical conductivity, total acidity (pH), ash mass fraction and concentration of free acids) were analyzed in 15 sunflower honeys collected from several localities in Vojvodina, Republic of Serbia. The mean values of analyzed honeys were: water content 16.87%; concentration of free acids 27.43 mEq/kg; electrical conductivity 0.34 mS/cm; pH 3.64. The selected physicochemical characteristics of all honey samples from Serbia analyzed in this research can be considered to be within the parameters expected for sunflower honey in general. The values for ash mass fraction, electrical conductivity and concentration of free acids in all sunflower honey samples showed similar trends. High correlation was established between electrical conductivity and ash mass fraction. Statistically significant difference at p≤0.05 (p=0.017) was established only for average values of free acids concentration between honey samples originating from the localities Kanjiža and Čelarevo. All of the analyzed honeys were found to meet national and European legislation for all investigated parameters. Therefore, further research on physicochemical properties of sunflower honey is required to confirm the quality and authenticity of this product and for better understanding the benefits of this honey.
Highlights
Honey is natural food that contains about 200 substances
The obtained values were compared with the values that are prescribed by the Regulation on the quality of honey in the Republic of Serbia (Pravilnik, 2015)
The water content, electrical conductivity, total acidity, ash mass fraction and concentration of free acids of sunflower honey collected from beekeepers in different regions of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, Serbia was determined
Summary
Honey is natural food that contains about 200 substances. Besides its main components, glucose and fructose, honey contains water and other substances such as proteins, organic acids, vitamins, minerals, pigments, phenolic compounds, volatile compounds, and solid particles derived from honey harvesting (Bogdanov, Jurendić, Sieber & Gallmann, 2008; Da Silva, Gauche, Gonzaga, Costa, & Fett, 2016). Many studies have been carried out to find analytical markers of the botanical and geographical origin of honey In these studies, physicochemical parameters (Devillers, Morlot, Pham-Delègue & Doré, 2004; Acquarone, Buera & Elizalde, 2007; Kirs, Pall, Martverk, & Laos, 2012; JuanBorrás et al, 2014; Karabagias et al, 2014; El Sohaimy, Masry & Shehata, 2015; Da Silva et al, 2016), carbohydrate profiles (Kaškonienė, Venskutonis & Čeksterytė, 2010; Escuredo et al, 2014; Živkov Baloš, Popov, Prodanov Radulović, Stojanov & Jakšić, 2020), mineral content (Lazarević, 2016; Mračević, Krstić, Lolić & Ražić, 2020), amino acid composition (Sakač et al, 2019), phenolic content (Sari & Ayyildiz, 2012; Alqarni, Owayss, & Mahmoud, 2012; Cimpoiu, Hosu, Miclaus, & Puscas, 2013), volatile compounds (Juan-Borrás et al, 2014) have been suggested as criteria for the characterization of honeys
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