Abstract
High-performance anion exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (HPAEC–PAD) combined with chemometric analysis was developed to describe, for the first time, the sugar profile of sixty-one honeys of different botanical origin produced in southern Italy (Calabria Region). The principal component and linear discriminant analysis used to describe the variability of sugar data were able to discriminate the honeys according to their botanical origin with a correlation index higher than 90%. For the purpose of the robustness of the conclusions of this study, the analytical advantages of the HPAEC–PAD method have been statistically demonstrated compared to the official Italian HPLC–RI method (Refractive Index detection). Finally, as the characterization of the floral and geographical origin of honey became an important issue due to high consumer demand, 13 acacia honeys originating from Europe and China were studied by using the same method. By chemometric method it was possible to discriminate the different geographical origin with an index of 100%. All results proved the possibility to identify the sugar profile obtained by HPAEC–PAD combined with a robust statistical analysis, as a tool of authentication.
Highlights
The high-performance anion-exchange chromatography (HPAEC)–pulsed amperometric detection (PAD) combined with chemometric analysis, were used for the discrimination of monofloral honey samples, based on their botanical and geographical origin
An instrumental technique based on high-performance anion exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (HPAEC–PAD) method combined with chemometric analysis was developed to investigate the sugar fingerprints in honey
The developed method was applied to honeys of different botanical origin produced in Southern Italy (Calabria Region)
Summary
According to the European Union Council Directive 2001/110/EC and Italian Law Decree n. Composition and quality factors include sugars, water-insoluble content, electrical conductivity, free acid, diastase activity. Among the other additional factors of the composition and quality of honey are the following: free acidity, related to the content of organic acids, which must be, in general, not more than 50 meq/kg and diastase activity (Scale Schade). The chemical composition can vary among different honeys due to different factors, such as the botanical origin, geographic area, season, technology used for honey extraction, and storage conditions. The composition of honey, and its identity and quality, can vary due to factors such as botanical origin and geographical area, and according to the harvesting season, the extraction technology, and the storage and preservation conditions [11,12]. Chemometric analyses were used to describe the variability of sugar data associated with the different honey profiles to be related to either geographical and floral authentication
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