Polyhenolic profile of floral honeys in correlation with their pollen spectrum

Abstract

Honey and propolis are rich in polyphenolic compounds, which perform as natural antioxidants. They can also be used as biomarkers in studies into the floral and geographical origin of honeys. The aim of the present work was to quantify polyphenolic compounds in floral honeys, in correlation with its pollinic patterns. The presence of phenolic compounds was evaluated by HPLC after extraction in solid phase and concentration. Flavonoids and total phenolic compounds by Folin Ciocalteau were also measured. Palinological spectrum a sensory analysis allowed considering this honey as coming from eucalyptus, trefoils and alfalfa. Eucalyptus honeys showed higher apigenin, kaempferol and pinocembrin and lower ferulic acid contents than the others. Principal component analysis allowed differentiating eucalyptus honeys from alfalfa and trefoils honeys, which shared the same cluster. Total phenolic content by Folin Ciocalteau ranged between 479.1 and 1833.0 mg GAE/kg of honey. The flavonoids content was between 14.0 and 70.5 mg QE/kg of honey. No correlations were found neither in flavonoid nor in phenolic compounds by Folin Ciocalteau with HPLC polyphenolic profiles. Biomarkers could not be found for this floral origin.

Keywords:

• honey
• phenolic profile
• polyphenolic compounds
• flavonoids
• pollinic analysis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Universidad Tecnológica Nacional.