Abstract
ABSTRACT Honey is a natural sweetener produced by honey bees from the secretions of plants. Honey is well-known for its nutritional and medicinal values since prehistoric times. In the present study, 40 honey samples were collected from supermarkets in China. These samples were produced in China and also imported from other countries. These samples were explored for the detection of 16 phenolic acids and 14 flavonoids by employing high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Among the phenolic compounds explored, gallic acid (phenolic acid) and chrysin (flavonoid) were found to be the most dominant phenolic compounds. The phenolic profile of honey samples was greatly influenced by geographical location and floral sources. The classification of honey samples collected from various regions and floral sources (unifloral and multi-floral) were carried out using linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and it was observed that certain phenolic compounds significantly contributed towards the classification of honey samples collected from various geographical origin and floral source. Thus, this systematic study provides a fundamental knowledge of honey quality for therapeutic product development.
Highlights
As one of the oldest and most conventional sweetening foods, honey has been reported to contain about 200 substances,[1] which include enzymes, flavonoids, phenolic acids, volatile compounds, sugars, proteins (0.5%), moisture (17.5%), vitamins, and minerals (0.04–0.2%)
The classification of honey samples collected from various regions and floral sources were carried out using linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and it was observed that certain phenolic compounds significantly contributed towards the classification of honey samples collected from various geographical origin and floral source
16 phenolic acids and 14 flavonoids were analyzed to identify a botanical marker of different commercial honey available in the local supermarket and compared the variations of the phenolic profile of different honey samples
Summary
As one of the oldest and most conventional sweetening foods, honey has been reported to contain about 200 substances,[1] which include enzymes, flavonoids, phenolic acids, volatile compounds, sugars, proteins (0.5%), moisture (17.5%), vitamins, and minerals (0.04–0.2%). The main constituents of honey are water, glucose, fructose, sucrose, minerals, and proteins.[2] Honey is a sugary natural product produced by honey bees from nectar and exudation of the plants. Honey bees transform nectar of flowers into honey by regurgitation, evaporation and enzymatic alteration of saccharides present in nectar. It is a supersaturated solution of monosaccharides like fructose (about 38–55%) and glucose (about 31%) that provide sweetness to the honey. The taste, color, other physical properties and the overall quality of honey are contributed by the non-volatile compounds that include sugars and phenolic compounds.[3]
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