Electrochemical Determination of the “Furanic Index” in Honey

Abstract

5-(hydroxymethyl)furan-2-carbaldehyde, better known as hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), is a well-known freshness parameter of honey: although mostly absent in fresh samples, its concentration tends to increase naturally with aging. However, high quantities of HMF are also found in fresh but adulterated samples or honey subjected to thermal or photochemical stresses. In addition, HMF deserves further consideration due to its potential toxic effects on human health. The processes at the origin of HMF formation in honey and in other foods, containing saccharides and proteins—mainly non-enzymatic browning reactions—can also produce other furanic compounds. Among others, 2-furaldehyde (2F) and 2-furoic acid (2FA) are the most abundant in honey, but also their isomers (i.e., 3-furaldehyde, 3F, and 3-furoic acid, 3FA) have been found in it, although in small quantities. A preliminary characterization of HMF, 2F, 2FA, 3F, and 3FA by cyclic voltammetry (CV) led to hypothesizing the possibility of a comprehensive quantitative determination of all these compounds using a simple and accurate square wave voltammetry (SWV) method. Therefore, a new parameter able to provide indications on quality of honey, named “Furanic Index” (FI), was proposed in this contribution, which is based on the simultaneous reduction of all analytes on an Hg electrode to ca. −1.50 V vs. Saturated Calomel Electrode (SCE). The proposed method, validated, and tested on 10 samples of honeys of different botanical origin and age, is fast and accurate, and, in the case of strawberry tree honey (Arbutus unedo), it highlighted the contribution to the FI of the homogentisic acid (HA), i.e., the chemical marker of the floral origin of this honey, which was quantitatively reduced in the working conditions. Excellent agreement between the SWV and Reverse-Phase High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (RP-HPLC) data was observed in all samples considered.

Multi-Elemental Analysis as a Tool to Ascertain the Safety and the Origin of Beehive Products: Development, Validation, and Application of an ICP-MS Method on Four Unifloral Honeys Produced in Sardinia, Italy

“…The level of discrimination achieved in this contribution is less than those obtained by this research group using chemometric approaches based on untargeted physical and chemical data [ 49 ] or FT-ATR spectroscopic data [ 50 ].…”

“…This research group has been active for decades in the assessment and validation of original analytical methods applied to beehive matrices to ascertain their quality [ 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 ] as well as origin [ 56 , 57 ]. Hence, the principal aim of this research was to ascertain the elemental signature of the most renowned unifloral honeys of Sardinia as a reliable tool to ensure their healthiness and guarantee their origin.…”

Virus-induced breath biomarkers: A new perspective to study the metabolic responses of COVID-19 vaccinees

“…Benzene derivatives, such as cumene, are suspected to be metabolized by CYPs, similar to benzene. 3-FAH has been commonly detected in honey, and its metabolism can be associated with gut microbiomes [ 59 ]. The underlying biochemistry of MsCl has not been fully characterized, although there might be an association between MsCl and viral infections.…”

Extraction and Quantification of a Carcinogenic and Cytotoxic compound: 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural (HMF) in honey using HPLC

“…Honey is useful for the skin as it gives an antioxidant effect, promotes the development of new tissue, cures wounds, acne, eczema, dandruff, tinea and psoriasis as it is anti-in ammatory, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties [2,4,5]. Honey contains amino acids and reducing sugars like glucose and fructose in majority and other sugars like trehalose, melibiose, turanose and ra nose in low amounts [1,2,3,4,6,7].…”