Abstract
A focus of research in recent years is the comparison of honey as the final product of bees with pollen and nectar of the plant from which the honey originates, as the main food source for bees. Buckwheat honey is recognized as a nutritionally valuable product, which provides a scientifically proven health benefit and is confirmed as a functional food. The quality of this type of honey is attributed to high levels of phytochemicals in buckwheat. The purpose of this study was the examination of similarity between buckwheat honey and buckwheat nectar and pollen, as well as simultaneous investigation of their chemical profiles and the origin of the honey. The phenolic profile of buckwheat pollen showed a lower number of flavonoids and phenolic acids than those of nectar and honey samples, but confirmed the presence of the most characteristic polyphenols derived from the buckwheat plant. The notable difference was found to be the presence of (epi)catechin units, its galloylated derivatives and procyanidin dimers, which were not present in honey. Honey polyphenols displayed a pronounced correlation with those of nectar, but not with those of pollen. Finally, by comparing the polyphenolic profiles of honey, nectar and pollen sharing the same geographical origin, new data could be provided for a potential assessment of the botanical origin of buckwheat honey.
Highlights
Buckwheat is а pseudo-cereal from the Polygonaceae family, and as a multipurpose plant, it is recognized as an essential functional food [1]
TPC and RSA values were correlated positively with each other, giving a correlation coefficient of 0.85 ( p < 0.05). This was in accordance with observations of other authors [5,8,52], which indicate that phenolic compounds predominately contributed to the antioxidant activity of honey [5]
A major contribution of the comprehensive analysis refers to the phenolic profiles of buckwheat honey samples, which have a different portion of Fagopyrum pollen
Summary
Buckwheat is а pseudo-cereal from the Polygonaceae family, and as a multipurpose plant, it is recognized as an essential functional food [1]. Common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) is a reliable and high-yielding honey plant [2]. A large number of flowers that bloom for a long time contribute to the buckwheat fields being a valuable and suitable bee pasture. Buckwheat honey is highly valued, with specific organoleptic properties, such as strong flavour, characteristic colour, pungent taste and aroma of molasses, but not preferred by consumers [3]. Regardless of estimation by consumers, buckwheat honey has a very high nutritional value with beneficial antioxidant [4,5] and anti-inflammatory effects [6]. As compared with other types of honey, buckwheat honey showed a higher content of minerals, sugars and phenolic compounds [7,8,9]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
