Physicochemical Properties of Honey Produced in the Homesha District of Western Ethiopia

Eyassu Seifu,Amsalu Bezabih,Sisay Gobessa

doi:10.2478/v10289-012-0004-z

Abstract

Physicochemical Properties of Honey Produced in the Homesha District of Western Ethiopia This study was conducted to characterize honey produced in the Homesha district in Western Ethiopia. The effects of location and hive type on the quality of honey produced in the area were assessed. A total of 20 honey samples were collected from four locations in the district. The overall mean (±SD) contents of reducing sugars, sucrose, pH, moisture, ash, hydroxymethylfurfural, acidity and water-insoluble solids of the honey samples analyzed were 65 ± 3.02%, 6.1 ± 3.4%, 4.02 ± 0.26, 16.4 ± 1.07%, 0.17 ± 0.07%, 1.8 ± 0.24 mg/kg, 23.9 ± 7.4 meq/kg and 0.09 ± 0.14%, respectively. The sucrose content of honey samples purchased from the market was significantly higher (p<0.05) than the sucrose contents of honey samples collected from other locations. Hive type significantly (p<0.05) influenced the contents of moisture, HMF and water-insoluble solids of honey samples. It can be concluded that honey produced in the Homesha district is of good quality and can meet the national and international market demands.

Highlights

IntroductionOwing to its varied ecological and climatic conditions, the country is home to some of the most diverse flora and fauna in Africa
Beekeeping is an important agricultural activity in Ethiopia
Six samples were obtained from natural vegetation dominated areas, six samples were obtained from mango dominated areas, three samples were obtained from crop dominated areas and five honey samples were purchased from the local market

Summary

Introduction

Owing to its varied ecological and climatic conditions, the country is home to some of the most diverse flora and fauna in Africa. This diversity makes it highly suitable for sustaining a large number of bee colonies (Adgaba, 2007). There are over 10 million bee colonies, out of which about 7.5 million are confined in hives and the remaining exist in the forest (Adgaba, 2007). This makes the country one of the largest honey producers and the third largest beeswax producer worldwide. Ethiopian honey production accounts for approximately 2.5% of world production and 21.7% of African honey production (MoARD, 2007)

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