Quality Profile of Several Monofloral Romanian Honeys

Ioan Mircea Pop, Daniel Simeanu (), Simona-Maria Cucu-Man (), Aurel Pui and Aida Albu
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Ioan Mircea Pop: Department of Control, Expertise and Services, Faculty of Food and Animal Sciences, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” University of Life Sciences, 8 Mihail Sadoveanu Alley, 700489 Iasi, Romania
Daniel Simeanu: Department of Control, Expertise and Services, Faculty of Food and Animal Sciences, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” University of Life Sciences, 8 Mihail Sadoveanu Alley, 700489 Iasi, Romania
Simona-Maria Cucu-Man: Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi, 11 Carol I Blvd, 700506 Iasi, Romania
Aurel Pui: Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi, 11 Carol I Blvd, 700506 Iasi, Romania
Aida Albu: Department of Control, Expertise and Services, Faculty of Food and Animal Sciences, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” University of Life Sciences, 8 Mihail Sadoveanu Alley, 700489 Iasi, Romania

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-26

Abstract: The objective of this research was to evaluate some quality-defining physicochemical parameters (moisture, specific gravity, pH, free acidity, ash, electrical conductivity, total phenols, and total flavonoids content, K, Ca, Mg, Na, and P) of seven Romanian monofloral honeys (linden, acacia, rapeseed, sunflower, mint, raspberry, and chestnut) collected in 2017. The investigated quality parameters are mainly within the recommended limits set by standards for honey. Sample analyses indicate the presence of antioxidants, such as TPC (17.9–73.2 mg GAE/100 g) and TFC (0.84–4.81 mg QE/100 g), and high amounts of K (101–1462 mg kg −1 ), Ca (58.3–167.5 mg kg −1 ), Mg (24.8–330.6 mg kg −1 ), Na (94.5–233.3 mg kg −1 ), and P (34.1–137.2 mg kg −1 ). The Pearson’s correlations between some parameters (such as color/TFC, color/Mg, color/P, EC/Ash, mm Pfund/TFC, TPC/TFC, K/Ash, P/Mg), together with PCA, HCA, and ANOVA statistics, highlight three main factors that explain the variability in the dataset and could be attributed to stability, mineral, and color/antioxidant contributions. FTIR spectra confirm the authenticity of all the monofloral honeys. The results and data processing confirm the influence of environmental elements (soil, water, air) on the honey composition and highlight the quality of honey, as a complete food and a therapeutic product.

Keywords: honey; phenols; flavonoids; minerals; FTIR; Pearson’s correlation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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