Qualitative characteristics of four Sicilian monofloral honeys from Apis mellifera ssp. sicula

Main Article Content

Paola Bambina
Francesca Malvano
Claudio Cinquanta
Donatella Albanese
Andrea Cirrito
Francesca Mazza
Onofrio Corona

Keywords

colour, honey, sensory analysis, Sicilian black bee

Abstract

Four monofloral honeys, obtained from the Sicilian black bee by foraging on thistle, sulla, chestnut and eucalyptus, were studied. Results showed that the phenolic composition of chestnut honey was the highest (316 mg gallic acid equivalent GAE/kg), while that of sulla honey was the lowest (122 mg GAE/kg). Data confirmed a correlation between the total phenol content and colour intensity in chestnut honey, which was the darkest of the four samples. Sulla honey showed the highest antioxidant activity, while eucalyptus honey had the highest mineral content (K, Ca, Mg, and Na). Thistle honey showed the most intense floral and fruity aromas, as well as an intense -yellow colour. Principal component analysis showed the potential to discriminate different honeys in three different quadrants.

Abstract 832 | PDF Downloads 1584 HTML Downloads 111 XML Downloads 124

References

Adiletta, G., Di Matteo, M., Albanese, D., Farina V., Cinquanta, L., Corona, O., Magri, A. and Petriccione, M., 2020. Changes in physico-chemical traits and enzymes oxidative system during cold storage of “Formosa” papaya fresh cut fruits grown in the mediterranean area (Sicily). Italian Journal of Food Science. 32: 845–857.

Al-Mamary, M., Al-Meeri, A. and Al-Habori, M., 2002. Antioxidant activities and total phenolic contents of different types of honey. Nutrition Research. 22: 1041–1047. 10.1016/S0271-5317(02)00406-2

Alves, A., Ramos, A., Goncalves, M.M., Bernardo, M., Mendes, B., 2013. Antioxidant activity, quality parameters and mineral content of Portuguese monofloral honeys. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis. 30: 130–138. 10.1016/j.jfca.2013.02.009

Amiot, M. J., Aubert, S., Gonnet, M. and Tacchini, M., 1989. Les composés phénoliques des miels: étude préliminaire sur l’identification et la quantification par familles. Apidologie. 20: 115–125. https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00890768

AOAC, 1999. Association of Official Analytical Chemists, 16th ed. Methods of analysis, Washington, DC.

Attanzio, A., Tesoriere, L., Allegra, M. and Livrea, M.A., 2016. Monofloral honeys by Sicilian black honeybee (Apis mellifera ssp. sicula) have high reducing power and antioxidant capacity. Heliyon. 2(11): e00193. 10.1016/j.heliyon.2016.e00193

Bacandritsos, N., Sabatini, A.G., Papanastasiou, I. and Saitanis, C.J., 2006. Physico-chemical characteristics of greek FIR honeydew honey from Marchalina hellenica (GEN.) in comparison to other mediterranean honeydew honeys. Italian Journal of Food Science. 18: 21–31.

Bogdanov, S., 2009. Honey composition. San Francisco, CA: HoneyBook. Vol. 9, pp. 27–36.

Bontempo, L., Camin, F., Ziller, L., Perini, M., Nicolini, G. and Larcher, R., 2017. Isotopic and elemental composition of selected types of Italian honey. Measurements. 98: 283–289. 10.1016/j.measurement.2015.11.022

Castro-Várquez, L., Díaz-Maroto, M.C., González-Viñas, M.A. and Pérez-Coello, M.S., 2009. Differentiation of monofloral citrus, rosemary, eucalyptus, lavender, thyme and heather honeys based on volatile composition and sensory descriptive analysis. Food Chemistry. 112: 1022–1030. 10.1016/j.foodchem.2008.06.036

Chudzinska, M. and Baralkiewicz, D., 2011. Application of ICP-MS method of determination of 15 elements in honey with chemometric approach for the verification of their authenticity. Food and Chemical Toxicology. 49: 2741–2749. 10.1016/j.fct.2011.08.014

Codex Alimentarius, 2001. Codex Alimentarius standard for honey 12-1981. Revised Codex standard for honey. Standards and standard methods (Vol. 11). [cited Dec 2014]. Available from: http://www.codexalimentarius.net

EU, 2014. Directive 2014/63/EU of the European parliament and of the council of 15 May 2014 amending council directive 2001/110/EC relating to honey. The Official Journal of the European Uniony. L164: 1–5.

Franck, P., Garnery, L., Celebrano, G., Solignac, M. and Cornuet, J.M., 2000. Hybrid origins of honeybees from Italy (Apis mellifera ligustica) and Sicily (A. m. sicula). Molecular Ecology. 7: 907–921. 10.1046/j.1365-294x.2000.00945.x

Jerković, I., Tuberoso, C. I., Gugić, M. and Bubalo, D., 2010. Composition of sulla (Hedysarum coronarium L.) honey solvent extractives determined by GC/MS: norisoprenoids and other volatile organic compounds. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland). 9: 6375–6385. 10.3390/molecules15096375

Karabagias, I.K., Badeka, A.V., Kontakos, S., Karabournioti, S. and Kontominas, M.G., 2014. Botanical discrimination of Greek unifloral honeys with physico-chemical and chemometric analyses. Food Chemistry. 165: 181–190. 10.1016/j.foodchem.2014.05.033

Larrauri, J.A., Sanchez-Moreno, C. and Saura-Calixto, F., 1998. Effect of temperature on the free radical scavenging capacity of extract from red and white grape pomace peel. Journal of Agri-cultural and Food Chemistry. 46: 2694–2697. 10.1021/jf980017p

Lobos, I., Silva, M., Ulloa, P. and Pavez, P., 2022. Mineral and botanical composition of honey produced in Chile’s Central–Southern region. Foods. 11: 251. 10.3390/foods11030251

Mannina, L., Sobolev, A.P., Di Lorenzo, A., Vista, S., Tenore, G.C. and Daglia, M., 2015. Chemical composition of different botanical origin honeys produced by Sicilian black honeybees (Apis mellifera ssp. sicula). Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 63: 5864–5874. 10.1021/jf506192s

Manyi-Loh, C.E., Ndip, R.N. and Clarke, A.M., 2011. Volatile compounds in honey: a review on their involvement in aroma, botanical origin determination and potential biomedical activities. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 12: 9514−9532. 10.3390/ijms12129514

Marcazzan, G.L., Magli, M., Piana, L., Savino, A. and Stefano, M., 2014. Sensory profile research on the main Italian typologies of monofloral honey: possible developments and applications. Journal of Apicultural Research. 53: 426–437. 10.3896/IBRA.1.53.4.09

Oddo, L.P., Piazza, M.G., Sabatini, A.G. and Accorti, M., 1995. Characterization of unifloral honeys. Apidologie. 6: 453–465. 10.1051/apido:19950602

Preti, R. and Tarola, A.M., 2022. Chemometric evaluation of the antioxidant properties and phenolic compounds in Italian honeys as markers of floral origin. European Food Research and Technology. 248: 991–1002. 10.1007/s00217-021-03939-z

Rodríguez-Flores, M.S., Escuredo, O., Míguez, M. and Seijo, M.C., 2019. Differentiation of oak honeydew and chestnut honeys from the same geographical origin using chemometric methods. Food Chemistry. 1: 124979. 10.1016/j.foodchem.2019.124979

Silva, P.M., Gauche, C., Gonzaga, L.V., Costa, A.C.O. and Fett, R., 2016. Honey: chemical composition, stability and authenticity. Food Chemistry. 196: 309–323. 10.1016/j.foodchem.2015.09.051

Singh, N. and Kuar Bath, P., 1997. Quality evaluation of different types of Indian honey. Food Chemistry. 58: 129–133. 10.1016/S0308-8146(96)00231-2

Singleton, V.L., Orthofer, R. and Lamuela-Raventos, R.M., 1999. Analysis of total phenols and other oxidation substrates and antioxidants by means of Folin–Ciocalteu reagent. Methods in Enzymology. 299: 152–178. 10.1016/S0076-6879(99)99017-1

Soares, S., Amaral, J.S., Oliveira, M.B.P.P. and Mafra, I.A., 2017. A comprehensive review on the main honey authentication issues: production and origin. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety. 15: 1072−1100. 10.1111/1541-4337.12278

Spayd, S.E., Tarara, J.M., Mee, D.L. and Ferguson, J.C., 2002. Separation of sunlight and temperature effects on the composition of Vitis vinifera cv. Merlot berries. The American Journal of Enology and Viticulture. 3: 171–182.

Thrasyvoulou, A., Tananaki, C., Georgios, G., Karazaphiris, E., Dimou, M., Liolios, V., Kanellis, D. and Gounari, S., 2018. Legislation of honey criteria and standards. Journal of Apiculture Research. 1: 88–96. 10.1080/00218839.2017.1411181

Wang, X., Yaxi Hu, C., Jinhui Zhou, J., Chen, L. and Lu, X,. 2022. Systematic review of the characteristic markers in honey of various botanical, geographic, and entomological origins. ACS Food Science and Technology. 2: 206–220. 10.1021/acsfoodscitech.1c00422