Volatile fraction of commercial thyme honeys produced in Mediterranean regions and key volatile compounds for geographical discrimination: A chemometric approach

ABSTRACT

The aim of the present study was to investigate the volatile fraction and discriminate 34 commercial thyme honeys from Morocco, Egypt, Spain, and Greece according to geographical origin, using key volatile compounds in combination with chemometrics. Sixty-two volatile compounds belonging to different classes were identified and semi-quantified using headspace solid phase micro-extraction coupled to gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC/MS). Applying chemometric analyses to 17 volatiles (p < 0.05), honeys were successfully discriminated according to geographical origin. Correct classification rate was 88.2% using the cross-validation method. Volatile compounds proved to be a powerful tool for discriminating commercial thyme honeys from different countries.

KEYWORDS:

• Mediterranean thyme honey
• volatile profile
• geographical discrimination
• chemometrics

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Mr. Christos Nikolaou for his excellent technical assistance and to Attiki Honey S.A. for the donation of honey samples from Greece.