Abstract
Wildflower honeys produced in mountain grasslands are an expression of the biodiversity of these fragile habitats. Despite its importance, the botanical origin of honey is often defined without performing formal analysis. The aim of the study was to characterize six wildflower mountain honeys produced in the Italian Alps with different analytic techniques (SPME–GC–MS, HPLC-Orbitrap, cicatrizing and antioxidant activity) alongside melissopalynological analysis and botanical definition of the production area. Even though the apiaries were in mountain grasslands rich in Alpine herbaceous species, the honey could be defined as rhododendron/raspberry unifloral or raspberry and rhododendron bifloral while the honey produced at the lowest altitude differed due to the presence of linden, heather and chestnut. The non-compliance of the honey could be due to habitat (meadows and pastures) fragmentation, but also to specific compounds involved in the plant–insect relationship, such as kynurenic acid, present in a high quantity in the sample rich in chestnut pollen. 255 volatile compounds were detected as well as some well-known markers of specific botanic essences, in particular chestnut, linden and heather, also responsible for most of the differences in aroma profiling. A high correlation between nicotinaldehyde content and percentage of raspberry pollen (r = 0.853, p < 0.05) was found. Phenolic acid and hydroxy-fatty acid were predominant in the chestnut pollen dominant honey, which presented the highest antioxidant activity and the lowest cicatrizing activity, while the flavonoid fraction was accentuated in one sample (rhododendron pollen prevalent), that was also the one with the highest effect on wound closure, although all samples had similar cicatrizing effects apart from the chestnut pollen dominant honey (lowest cicatrizing activity). Our study highlighted the difficulty of producing mountain wildflower honey and the importance of a thorough characterization of this product, also to encourage its production and valorisation.
Highlights
Honey is defined as a sweet substance produced by Apis mellifera L. combining the nectar collected from plants, excretions of plant-sucking insects or sweet excretion of plants with specific substances produced on their own, and subsequent storage in the honeycomb, where the substance ripens, developing specific molecules and lessening water content[1]
From the phytosociological relevés performed in each sampling area it is evident that hives were positioned in grasslands rich in Alpine herbaceous species (Table S1)
The beehives were positioned in mountain grasslands, melissopalynological analysis presented a different picture
Summary
Honey is defined as a sweet substance produced by Apis mellifera L. combining the nectar collected from plants, excretions of plant-sucking insects or sweet excretion of plants with specific substances produced on their own, and subsequent storage in the honeycomb, where the substance ripens, developing specific molecules and lessening water content[1]. This analytical technique is the most recognized method to define the floral origin of honey based on the identification and quantification of pollen percentages by microscopic examination[4]. In such cases, the botanical origin of honey is based on the claims of local beekeepers, and the determination of honey origin is performed by sensory analysis (often subjective) or by considering the predominant flowers surrounding the hive. Pollen analysis can be not enough descriptive of some honey types obtained from plant with underrepresented or overrepresented pollen, such as Castanea sativa Mill.[12], and in any case melissopalynology requires very expert analysts[13]
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