Comparative Study of the Nutritional Compositions of Pure and Adulterated Honey Samples Collected from Kano South Senatorial District of Kano State, Nigeria

Abstract

Honey, the sweet, nutritious substance produced by honeybees, is of good nutritional and medicinal importance to consumers. The present study aimed at comparing the nutritional compositions of pure and adulterated honey samples collected directly from the honey beekeepers from Kano South Senatorial District of Kano State, Nigeria. For this purpose, a total of three samples each were randomly collected from three randomly selected local governments of the Senatorial District and analyzed for some nutritional values. Similarly, an adulterated honey sample was randomly collected from each of the three local governments. The mean nutritional values obtained for the pure sample were as follows: Moisture content (17.69-18.02%); crude fat (0.89-1.29%); crude protein (0.02-0.13%); ash content (0.44-0.51%); carbohydrate content (80.16-80.75%); energy values (1386.613-1396.157 KJ/100 g). While the adulterated honey sample recorded the following results: Moisture content (24.01%); crude fat (0.94%); crude protein (1.26%); ash content (2.64%); carbohydrate content (71.15%); energy values (1247.847 KJ/100 g). These results indicate that the pure honey sample analyzed are of good quality, as such could be used for both nutritional and medicinal purposes, having met the international honey standards. On the other hand, the adulterated honeys should always be used with care since they usually fall below the international honey standards.