Physico-chemical, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of three different types of honey from Central Serbia

Nikola Srećković,Vladimir Mihailović,Jelena Katanić-Stanković

doi:10.5937/kgjsci1941053s

Abstract

There are many studies dealing with the comparison of the quality and biological characteristics of honey of distinct geographical and botanical origins. However, there is scarce literary data on the physico-chemical and biological properties of different types of honey from the same production regions. Honey samples used in this study were from the following botanical origins: forest honey (honeydew), polyfloral honey and monofloral acacia honey. All samples were provided by a local beekeeper from Sumadija district (Central Serbia) and produced during the flowering season in 2018. Spectrophotometric determination of phenolic compounds in honey samples showed that the forest honey contained the highest total phenolics (806.10 mg GAE/kg) and flavonoids (146.27 mg QU/kg) contents, more than ten times higher than acacia honey (68.48 mg GAE/kg and 18.59 mg QU/kg, respectively). Antioxidant activity was determined by DPPH· and ABTS·+ assays. Forest honey showed better antioxidant activity than the other examined honey samples (594.77 mg Trolox/kg for ABTS assay and 260.77 mg Trolox/kg for DPPH assay). The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of honey samples against a panel of eleven bacterial and eight fungal species, along with yeast Candida albicans, showed that forest honey was the most effective in inhibition of their growth. These results suggest that forest honey has the best potential, among studied honey samples, for use in the human diet as food with valuable biological properties.

Highlights

IntroductionViscous food substance produced by honey bees (Apis mellifera L.). Bees produce honey from the floral nectar through regurgitation, enzymatic activity, water evaporation and store it in wax structures called honeycombs (CRANE, 1990)
Honey is a sweet, viscous food substance produced by honey bees (Apis mellifera L.)
Previous studies have suggested that transitional metals, which can be found in honey, react with organic compounds in honey forming a highly colorful complex (HARRIS, 2014)

Summary

Introduction

Viscous food substance produced by honey bees (Apis mellifera L.). Bees produce honey from the floral nectar through regurgitation, enzymatic activity, water evaporation and store it in wax structures called honeycombs (CRANE, 1990). The honey contains various antioxidants including enzymatic: catalase, glucose oxidase, peroxidase and non-enzymatic: ascorbic acid, α-tocopherol, carotenoids, amino acid, proteins, organic acid and polyphenolic compounds (flavonoids, flavonols, catechins, cinnamic acid derivatives and other) (GHELDOF et al, 2002; FERRERES et al, 1994). Because of their complex composition, even honey of the same botanical origin can exhibit different biological activities (LONGMONT, 1991). Results from several studies showed that honey types light in color (acacia) exhibited lower values for total phenolic content and antioxidant activity than darker honey types (forest, chestnut, spruce or fir) (BERTONCELJ et al, 2007)

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