Origin Of Honey Research Articles

Kaempferitrin: A Flavonoid Marker to Distinguish Camellia oleifera Honey.

C. oleifera is an economically important oilseed crop and medical plant. However, as a characteristic honey resource, the standard protocol used to identify the composition of C. oleifera honey has not been established yet. Previously, distinctive flavonoid has been shown as an effective marker to trace the botanical origin of honey. In this study, we examined the flavonoid types in C. oleifera honey and nine other monofloral honeys by using liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and compared the differences and identified eight distinct flavonoids in C. oleifera honey. Then, comparing the 8 flavonoids with the 14 flavonoids common to C. oleifera honey and nectar, two distinct flavonoids were identified in C. oleifera honey and nectar. Finally, we identified kaempferitrin as the distinct flavonoid marker in C. oleifera honey using the degree of influence of the partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) model on C. oleifera honey and ployfloral honey.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PHYSICOCHEMICAL PARAMETERS AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF MOLDAVIAN HONEY

Six samples of Moldavian honey from different regions were analyzed, physical and chemical parameters, the content of macro-, microelements, and aminoacids were determined, as well as antibacterial and antifungal activity. The antibacterial and antifungal properties were determined using the double serial dilution method. It was established that all of the samples of acacia, linden, and sunflower honey possess high antibacterial activity. The bioactivity of the samples of honey was proven to be dependent on the type and origin of honey. Sunflower honey has higher antibacterial potency than linden, but linden honey is more active than acacia. Both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial species proved to be susceptible to Moldavian honey. Acacia, linden, and sunflower honey, possess high antibacterial potency against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa even at a dilution of 1:16 (2.5%). The studied samples showed weak antifungal activity against Candida albicans, with the MIC determined at 1:2 dilution (20%). For linden and sunflower honey, the antifungal activity was higher than for acacia honey. The samples with the best bioactivity (sunflower honey) contain a higher amount of free acids, had lower pH values of the honey solution, and these samples also have the highest content of OMF.

THE INFLUENCE OF PREVENTING CRYSTALLIZATION TREATMENT ON THE SELECTED QUALITY PARAMETERS OF HONEY

Background. Honey is a popular food product because of its taste, nutritional and health values. It is valued for its rich composition. During storage, honey changes its consistency from liquid to solid. The length of this process varies depending on the botanical origin of honey. The goal of the study was to determine the impact of thermal treatment on the selected qualitative features of honey and to extend the period during which honey remains liquid. The research material was non-purified, raw polyfloral honey. To prevent quick honey crystallization, hot air, microwave radiation and ultrasonic treatment was carried out. In order to identify changes in the structure of honey, its moisture content, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) content, the degree of honey crystallization during storage using the measurement of the amount of backscattered light (BS) and thermal properties using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were deter mined. Results and conclusions. Each of these treatments was accompanied by an increase in the hydroxy methylfurfural content (HMF). However, the HMF content in heat-treated honey still meets the Council Directive 2001/110/EC criteria (< 40 mg/kg). To measure the progress of honey granulation during stora ge, the amount of backscattered light (BS) was checked. The microwave-heated honey remained in the liquid state for a long time, which was confirmed by a low amount of backscattered light. On the other hand, a common treatment preventing honey granulation, i.e. hot air, was not the most efficient method to prolong the storage time of liquid honey. Moreover, the honey heated with hot air had the highest HMF content and BS amount.

ПАЛИНОЛОГИЧЕСКОЕ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЕ МЁДА В РЕСПУБЛИКЕ БУРЯТИЯ

In recent years, agricultural production has been given the strategic task of intensifying and strengthening the production of a quality food product. Many experts testify that indicators regulated by documents, although providing sufficient information about the quality of honey, they do not allow characterizing some properties, for example, its botanical origin. The botanical type of honey is substantiated by the nectar collection area. In practice, examples are given when natural honey is falsified by introducing various impurities into it. For example, they falsify with sugar, flour, starch, sugar syrup, starch and sugar syrup, artificial honey. Palynological analysis is the most objective method for assessing the botanical origin of honey, on which many of its value and quality characteristics depend. The goal is to study the palynological composition of honey obtained in the conditions of the Republic of Buryatia, identify falsification and confirm naturalness. The studies were carried out using a Carl Zeiss Primo Star microscope. The morphometric study was carried out on a Carl Zeiss Primo Star microscope at a magnification of about 10, volume 5 in the program Zeiss Efficien tNavigation (ZEN). Results: Microscopic examination revealed crystals of various shapes in the samples: needle-shaped, star-shaped, irregular and regular geometric shapes. In natural honey, crystals should only be needle-shaped and star-shaped. According to the results of the research, it was revealed that crystals were found in 40 % of the studied samples, namely, regular and irregular geometric shapes. This indicates that honey samples are falsified and made by bees using sugar syrup or sugar. Based on a palynological study, pollen grains were found in all 20 samples studied, corresponding to their botanical origin. Solitary pollen grains of other associated plants were also found. This method of analyzing honey allows you to detect falsification of a product with sugar or powdered sugar under a microscope, as well as fungal spores, pollen grains of plants.

Melissopalynology of <i>Coffea arabica</i> honey produced by the stingless bee <i>Tetragonisca angustula</i> (Latreille, 1811) from Alajuela, Costa Rica

<abstract> <p><italic>Tetragonisca angustula</italic> is the most widespread stingless bee species, from Mexico to Northern Argentina. It is called Mariola in Costa Rica. Native plant species offering food resources and nesting sites to stingless bees are included in reforestation and conservation programs. In Costa Rica there are continuous initiatives on listing flora supporting meliponiculture. In this study, a sample of pot-honey was collected from sealed honey pots within nests of <italic>Tetragonisca angustula</italic> in Alajuela, Costa Rica. It was acetolyzed following standard methods and the pollen types were visualized by microscopic analysis at 200X magnification using a Nikon Eclipse Ni binocular scope. Electronic brightfield micro-photographs were obtained at 1000X magnification and pollen types were plated. Palynological descriptions were provided for major pollen grains. The botanical identifications of plant families and genera were established by comparison with pollen atlases and were validated consulting the 2022 Tropicos Missouri Botanical Garden database. Seventy-nine pollen types were recognized in the pollen spectrum, representing 36 families and 67 genera of flowering plants. Their habits were trees (51%), lianas/vine (11%), herbs (19%), herb/tree (5%), shrubs (5%), shrub/tree (1%) and not assigned (8%). This assemblage indicated the presence of lowland tropical forest elements, probably small relicts of secondary forest surrounding open and cultivated areas where <italic>Coffea arabica</italic> pollen dominated in the honey pollen spectrum with 54.3% of total counts, with secondary <italic>Paullinia</italic> sp. 8.7%, <italic>Vochysia</italic> sp. 4.8% and <italic>Cassia</italic> sp. 4.2% and 95% of pollen taxa present in < 3% relative frequency. Taxa offering only pollen (polleniferous) were considered honey contaminants (32%) not explaining the nectar botanical origin of honey.</p> </abstract>

ANÁLISIS MULTIVARIADO Y MODELAMIENTO FACTORIAL MÚLTIPLE EN LA CLASIFICACIÓN DE MIELES PERUANAS DEL BAJO MAYO, SAN MARTÍN, PERÚ

MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS AND MULTIPLE FACTORIAL MODELING IN THE CLASSIFICATION OF PERUVIAN HONEYS FROM BAJO MAYO, SAN MARTIN, PERU. Honey is a natural product made mainly from the nectar of flowers; its final quality depends on its botanical and geographical origin. The variability is wide even for honey from the same region. The botanical and geographical origin of honey is still difficult to determine, so it is increasingly necessary to standardize analysis protocols that contribute to the verification of the quality of this important product of the beehive. The physicochemical and sensory properties of fifteen samples of honey from the Mayo River basin, Department of San Martin (Peru) have been evaluated, taking as reference the physicochemical parameters of color, the chromaticity of the CIELab system, pH, free acidity, total sugars, humidity, ash, electrical conductivity, density, and water activity. Additionally, the sensory attributes and intrinsic properties of the honey samples have been related to their classification through a Neuronal Probabilistic Network system, cluster analysis, discriminant, multiple factorial, and PLS-PATH, which have allowed the differentiation and classification of the honey, according to their geographical origin under three categories associated to the Pfund scale in amber, light amber, and extra light amber.

Assessment of the botanical origin of Bulgarian honey samples using melissopalynological, DNA barcoding and NMR analyses

Polyfloral honey samples from Bulgaria were subject to parallel analyses of their botanical origin and composition using traditional melissopalynology, DNA barcoding based on the plastid rbcL gene and NMR analysis. The obtained datasets were compared with each other to evaluate the information capacity of the applied experimental methods. The results from the melissopalynological and DNA-barcoding studies demonstrated a significantly higher resolution of the latter, revealing the presence of pollen from a total of 17 plant families, 21 plant genera and 5 plant species in comparison to pollen from only 7 plant families, 3 plant genera and 4 plant species identified by melissopalynology. The higher resolution of DNA barcoding allows a more detailed characterisation of the diet and foraging preferences of honey bees, including foraging on plant species growing in lower abundance in the area. The comparison of the quantitative data on floral honey composition for several plant genera and species reveals significant differences between the relative abundance of the pollen grains estimated by melissopalynological analysis and the relative abundance of rbcL clones in rbcL libraries determined after DNA barcoding. All three applied methods confirm the polyfloral botanical origin of the analysed samples and support routine NMR use for the assessment of the floral origin of honey.

Metabarcoding of eDNA for tracking the floral and geographical origins of bee honey

Authentic honey products have a high commercial value and are often falsified via adulteration. Metabarcoding of environmental DNA (eDNA) from bacterial, floral, and entomological sources has recently been proposed as a useful tool for identifying and authenticating floral and geographical origins of bee honey. In this study, eDNA metabarcoding was applied to reveal the bacterial, plant, and honey bee DNA signatures of 48 commercial honey products from six different geographical origins. Bacterial DNA composition in commercial honey showed different relative abundance of Paenibacillus and Bacillus in geographically different samples, and high abundance of Methylobacterium in chestnut honey implying potential use of bacterial DNA composition for honey authentication. Using the chloroplast trnL (UAA) as a DNA marker, floral origins of commercial honey were investigated. Based on floral DNA signatures, 12 monofloral honey samples were identified among the 45 samples tested. Targeted amplicon sequencing of cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene from entomological DNA identified three different Apis mellifera sequence variants, specific to geographic origin of honey, suggesting that COI can be implemented as a DNA marker to trace the origin of honey. Therefore, the current study demonstrated the potential of eDNA based metabarcoding as a robust tool for evaluating commercial bee honey by exploring their floral and geographical origins.

Optical Rotation—A Reliable Parameter for Authentication of Honey?

The controversial question of whether optical rotation data can be used to distinguish floral from honeydew honey was investigated. Specific optical rotation angles were determined for 41 honey samples, including floral, honeydew, and adulterated honey, indicating that moderate to high positive optical rotation angles were found for all adulterated samples measured. A strong correlation between the sugar profile and the specific optical rotation angle of honey was confirmed, and a method based on 13C NMR metabolomics was proposed to calculate specific optical rotation angles with good correlation with the experimental values. The results indicate that optical rotation is not a reliable method for distinguishing the origin of honey but could indicate adulteration.

Honey Traceability and Authenticity. Review of Current Methods Most Used to Face this Problem

Abstract In this review, we have focused on analytical methods for characterizing the geographical and botanical origin of honey. We evaluated works concerning the methods most used in the analysis of the geographical and botanical origin of honey, paying particular attention to what has been used in the last decade. We investigated starting from the most common methods used at the beginning of this century, such as melissopalynological analysis, the analysis of the mineral profile or chemico-physical parameters, to the current state-of-the-art technologies and methods including the metabolomic and genomic approaches, the blockchain or Internet of Things. For each methodology, several examples have been given, and advantages and limitations are explained. Whereas currently only one approach is rarely used, many methods are used in combination because a combined approach usually leads to greater accuracy, also thanks to the current possibilities that multivariate statistical methods or chemometric methods offers us.

Qualitative Characterization and Antifungal Activity of Romanian Honey and Propolis.

The purpose of this study was to review the physicochemical characterization of Romanian honey and propolis and their antifungal effect on different strains. As an indicator of environmental pollution, lead exceeded the allowed limits in two study areas. The relationship between the acidity and electrical conductivity of polyfloral honey and the antioxidant activity with the total content of phenolics and flavonoids was investigated. The antifungal activity of 13 polyfloral honey and propolis samples from North-West and Central Romania and 12 samples from Alba County was investigated against six fungal strains: Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Candida albicans, Penicillium chrysogenum, Rhizopus stolonifer, Fusarium oxysporum. All honey and propolis samples exhibited an antifungal effect. The most sensitive strains were P. chrysogenum and R. stolonifer for honey and P. chrysogenum and F. oxisporumn for propolis. A two-way analysis of variance was used to evaluate the correlations between the diameter of the inhibition zones for the strains and the propolis extracts. Statistical analysis demonstrated that the diameter of the inhibition zone was influenced by the strain type and the geographical origin of honey and propolis. Pearson's correlation coefficient shows a significant positive linear relationship between the diameter of the inhibition zone and the flavonoid and phenol concentration of honey and propolis, respectively.

Isolation and Barcoding of Trace Pollen-free DNA for Authentication of Honey

Adulteration and mislabeling of honey to mask its true origin have become a global concern. Pollen microscopy, the current gold standard for identifying honey's geographical and plant origins, is laborious, requires extensive training, and fails to identify filtered honey and honey spiked with pollen from a more favorable plant to disguise its origins. We successfully isolated pollen-free DNA from filtered honey using three types of adsorbents: (i) anti-dsDNA antibodies coupled to magnetic microspheres; (ii) anion-exchange adsorbent; and (iii) ceramic hydroxyapatite. The internal transcribed spacer 2 region of the captured pollen-free DNA was polymerase chain reaction-amplified and subjected to next-generation sequencing. Using an in-house bioinformatics pipeline, initial experiments showed that anion exchange had the greatest capacity to capture trace pollen-free DNA, and it was successfully applied to isolate DNA from five honey samples. Enrichment of trace pollen-free DNA from filtered honey samples opens a new approach for identifying the true origins of honey.

Establishment and application of quantitative method for 22 organic acids in honey based on SPE-GC–MS

Honey, a natural healthy liquid bee product, is rich in amino acids, vitamins, and other essential nutrients. Different origin honeys also varied in organic acids. The objective of this study is to establish an efficient solid-phase extraction-gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (SPE-GC–MS) method to eliminate interference of sugar and other impurities for accurately estimating 22 organic acids in honey by optimizing extraction, purification, derivatization, and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analytical conditions. After being extracted, purified and derivatized, organic acids in honey were qualified and quantified by GC–MS. This method was evaluated experimentally, and the results showed that, within a certain concentration range, the standard curve linear relationship was satisfactory (R2 > 0.9942), and the target organic acid recovery rate was 86.74% ~ 118.68%. Besides, precision (relative standard deviation, RSD = 2.98% ~ 13.42%), detection limit (LOD = 0.002 ~ 0.2 mg kg−1), and quantification limit (LOQ = 0.008 ~ 0.5 mg kg−1) met the target requirements. Also, based on this analytical method, the organic acids in five types of honey (acacia, jujube, vitex, canola and linden honey) were estimated. Notably, they all contained 22 different kinds of organic acids, and significant differences (p < 0.05) in the organic acid content and composition among different honey varieties were observed. PCA analysis showed that the five honeys could be differentiated based on the content of 22 organic acids.

Characterization of Brazilian floral honey produced in the states of Santa Catarina and São Paulo through ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis), near-infrared (NIR), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy

Honey is considered a complex matrix for presenting a range of secondary metabolites originating from the regional flora. It has been highlighted as a functional food consumed worldwide and frequently suffering from adulteration. Fraud methods have been sophisticated over the years, indicating the need of a continuous updating of the existing analysis methods. For this reason, analytical techniques applied to honey have been expanded, allowing the detection of fraud and the determination of geographic and botanical origin, to guarantee the authenticity of the product. In this sense, this study aimed to characterize floral honey samples in 2019–2020 and 2020–2021 harvests in the states of Santa Catarina (SC, southern Brazil – n = 73) and São Paulo (SP, southeastern Brazil – n = 59), through UV–vis, NIR, and NMR spectroscopies. The total reduced capacity showed a wide variation (0.76–12.8 mg GAE.g−1) among the SC and SP samples. Spectroscopic analyses through UV–vis and NMR with the application of PCA proved effective for discriminating honey samples according to their geographical origin. The honey UV–vis spectral profiles allowed to detect wavelengths that can be associated with honey adulteration, however further studies are needed to establish the accuracy of detection regarding fraud. In summary, a set of analytical protocols is presented to determine the geographical origin of floral honey, even when originated from regions with great biodiversity such as Brazil.

Determination of the parameters of freeze-drying honey

The article presents the results of studies of freeze-drying of various types of honey. The purpose of the research was to determine the optimal parameters for the freeze-drying of honey. The physical and chemical parameters of three types of honey produced in the East Kazakhstan region were previously studied. The results showed that the studied prototypes meet the regulatory requirements for the quality of natural honey. It has been established that in terms of moisture content, sunflower honey differs from mountain honey and sweet clover (15 %, 17.3 % and 17.2 %, respectively), and also contains a high amount of reducing sugars (87.9 %), however, the mass fraction of sucrose is 2.5 %. It is noted that the highest content of sucrose in mountain honey is 4.5 %. The diastase number is an indicator of the quality and naturalness of honey and, according to the requirements of GOST, should be at least 8 Gote units, the results show that the studied samples of honey contain from 13.1 to 15.1 units, which confirms the influence of the geographical origin of honey. According to the value of water activity, all types of honey are products with low humidity and long-term storage. The optimal technological modes of freeze-drying of honey have been established, which range from minus 30 °C to minus 40 °C degrees.

The antimicrobial mechanism of Greek thyme honeys against methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus clinical isolates: a case study of comparison with Manuka honey

SummaryThe antibacterial potential of honey has been of great scientific interest. Understanding the underlying mechanism is essential to explore its potential as therapeutic alternative against a range of (non)pathogenic microorganisms. The floral origin of honey is critical for its antibacterial activity and Greek thyme honeys have been of increasing interest due to their chemical composition and bioactivity. In this study, the antimicrobial effect of six Greek honeys, with different percentages of thyme pollen grains and two Manuka honeys were tested against four MRSA clinical isolates (ATCC 43300, 0791, 28965, 01322). Agar‐well diffusion assay and total viable counts were used to examine the antimicrobial strength of honeys, while the effect thereof on cellular redox state and cell membrane was tested by flow cytometry. Thyme honeys had superior or equal antimicrobial strength compared to this of Manuka, while thermal processing did not significantly affect this activity. Acidity and the high H2O2 content, common features for all thyme honeys, caused cellular oxidative damage and cell death unlike observed in Manuka‐treated populations. The activity of the monofloral thyme honey (74% thyme pollen) was higher than the other indigenous polyfloral samples, which confirms the medicinal importance of this medicinal plant.

Pollen Types Reveal Floral Diversity in Natural Honeys from Campeche, Mexico

The Yucatan Peninsula, located in southern Mexico, is a central honey-producing region with extraordinary biodiversity of melliferous plants. Approximately 900 plant species have been described as being a source of nectar and pollen for bees and other pollinators. They provide ecosystem services that help to keep plant biodiversity high and mitigate the effects of climate change. This study aimed to reveal the diversity of the pollen content in honey through a melissopalynological analysis of 22 honey samples collected in February–August 2021 from the north-central area of Campeche, Mexico. The extraction of pollen from the honey was carried out using standard methods for melissopalynological analysis. The honeys were classified by botanical origin to determine their floral sources and a diverse spectrum of 19 pollen types from 13 families was identified. Only eight were predominant: Milleria quinqueflora, Gymnopodium floribundum, Terminalia buceras, Amaranthus spinosus, Zea mays, Talisia floresii, Guazuma ulmifolia, and Croton icche. Our research shows the high quality of the honey analyzed and highlights the diversity and critical role of local melliferous flora and crops in beekeeping development in southern Mexico. The results in this study are useful for confirming the botanical origins of honey, generating information for designing nature conservation and agroecosystem management strategies, and increasing the knowledge of beekeepers in Campeche, Mexico.

Finding features - variable extraction strategies for dimensionality reduction and marker compounds identification in GC-IMS data

Gas chromatography hyphenated to ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS) is a powerful, two-dimensional separation and detection technique for volatile organic compounds (VOC). Low detection limits, high selectivity and robust operation characterize it as an ideal tool for non-target screening (NTS) approaches. Combined with multivariate data analysis, it has been successfully applied to several areas in food science, such as authenticity control and flavor profiling. The recorded raw data feature high numbers of variables due to the high scan speeds of the instrument. Additionally, NTS approaches - by design - record more data than required. Therefore, reducing the number of variables is a key step in any machine learning pipeline to reduce overfitting, overlong training times and model complexity. The aim of the study is a comparison between the two most used dimensionality reduction techniques, PCA and PLS, regarding interpretability, as a tool to find marker compounds, and performance as a preprocessing step for supervised learning. Both feature per variable visualizations, which allows easy interpretation of results and retains a connection to the input data, which can lead to the discovery of marker compounds. A GC-IMS dataset about the botanical origin of honey is used, and all formatting steps necessary to apply PCA and PLS to higher dimensional data and obtain intuitive figures are explained. To evaluate effectiveness as a preprocessing step in a supervised pipeline four supervised algorithms were fitted with PCA or PLS variable reduction. PLS proved to be a more effective step in a supervised workflow in terms of accuracy, while PCA is highly effective for revealing preprocessing weaknesses such as misalignments.

Characterization of Botanical Origin of Italian Honey by Carbohydrate Composition and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).

Honey is a natural sweetener constituted by numerous macro- and micronutrients. Carbohydrates are the most representative, with glucose and fructose being the most abundant. Minor honey components like volatile organic compounds (VOCs), minerals, vitamins, amino acids are able to confer honey-specific properties and are useful to characterize and differentiate between honey varieties according to the botanical origin. The present work describes the chemical characterization of honeys of different botanical origin (multifloral, acacia, apple–dandelion, rhododendron, honeydew, and chestnut) produced and collected by beekeepers in the Trentino Alto-Adige region (Italy). Melissopalynological analysis was conducted to verify the botanical origin of samples and determine the frequency of different pollen families. The carbohydrate composition (fourteen sugars) and the profile of VOCs were evaluated permitting to investigate the relationship between pollen composition and the chemical profile of honey. Statistical analysis, particularly partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), demonstrates the importance of classifying honey botanical origin on the basis of effective pollen composition, which directly influences honey’s biochemistry, in order to correctly define properties and value of honeys.

Investigating the price effects of honey quality attributes in a European country: Evidence from a hedonic price approach

AbstractThis study investigates the price effects of honey quality attributes in Spain. Price and product characteristics are collected from 264 honey labels found on the shelves of the main representative retail stores available in the national territory. The marginal effects and the implicit prices of honey characteristics are assessed through a hedonic price approach. Results show that the prices of honey are affected by leader brands sold in gourmet stores and hypermarkets in glass packages compared to producer brands sold in discounts stores and supermarkets in plastic packages. The organic production and the protected designation of origin quality labels generate positive marginal effects on the prices of honey, as well. Regarding the origin of honey, the highest relative and absolute consumer price premiums are received for honey coming from the European Union and Spain compared with blend honey coming from EU and non‐EU countries. Consumer implicit prices are also influenced by mono‐floral and gourmet honey with additional properties (e.g., ginseng) compared with the multifloral varieties. These findings are a useful source for a better understanding of the evolution of honey in the Spanish market. Spanish beekeepers who can differentiate their honey, may use these results as an orientation for their business strategies.