Abstract
This paper is a summary of the latest literature on methods for assessing quality of natural bee honey. The publication briefly characterizes methods recommended by the International Honey Commission, published in 2009, as well as newer methods published in the last 10 years. Modern methods of assessing honey quality focus mainly on analyzing markers of individual varieties and classifying them into varieties, using, among others, near infrared spectroscopy techniques (NIR), potentiometric tongue, electronic nose, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), zymography, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), DNA metabarcoding, and chemometric techniques including partial least squares (PLS), principal component analysis (PCA) and artificial neural networks (ANN). At the same time, effective techniques for analyzing adulteration, sugar, and water content, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), polyphenol content, and diastase activity are being sought. Modern techniques enable the results of honey quality testing to be obtained in a shorter time, using the principles of green chemistry, allowing, at the same time, for high precision and accuracy of determinations. These methods are constantly modified, so that the honey that is on sale is a product of high quality. Prospects for devising methods of honey quality assessment include the development of a fast and accurate alternative to the melissopalynological method as well as quick tests to detect adulteration.
Highlights
Natural bee honey is a sweet product made by honeybees Apis mellifera L., both from the nectar of plants and from the excreta of insects sucking the juice from living parts of plants or from secretions of live parts of plants
The analysis revealed similarities in samples from geographic regions that were in close proximity to each other; it can be a tool for determining the geographical origin of honey [24]
Methods enabling the examination of several parameters which would prove the quality of bee honey within a short period of time are needed
Summary
Natural bee honey is a sweet product made by honeybees Apis mellifera L., both from the nectar of plants and from the excreta of insects sucking the juice from living parts of plants or from secretions of live parts of plants. Those are combined with specific secretions of bees, stored in honeycombs, evaporated, and left in honeycombs to mature. Requirements in individual countries include parameters such as variety determination, water content For example, color and total phenolic content (TPC). Standard methods, including spectrophotometric, refractometric, titration and melissopalynological methods, are used [2]
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