Different flavours of honey, their properties and health benefits

Abstract

Honey is a sweet, natural, viscous product made by honey bees of the genus Apis (Apidae). It not only gives us honey but also play a very important role in our environment, i.e., pollination. They produce honey by collecting the nectar from different flowers of various plants. Most of the nectar is collected by the bees from the plant families like, fabaceae, asteraceae and myrtaceae. Taste, composition (such as nutrients and bioactive compounds), quality, and quantity of nectar are mostly determined by the blooms of various plant families from which the nectar is derived. Honey comes in a range of flavours and is prepared to meet a number of health and beauty needs. Honey vary in color and flavour depending on which nectar source (flowers) the honey bees visit. Twenty flavours of honey as well as their origins have been discussed. The price of honey varied between Rs. 300 to Rs. 6184 500 g−1, the minimum price (Rs. 300 500 g−1) was noticed in multifloral honey, while maximum price (Rs. 6184 500 g−1) was observed in honey from manuka.