Honey—its characteristics, sensory aspects, and applications

Abstract

Honey is a natural, sweet, syrupy fluid collected by bees from nectar of flowers. The pleasant aroma and taste of this viscous liquid ranging in color from pale yellow to dark amber varies according to geographical and seasonal conditions. Its use as a sweetener is well known in different parts of the world. In early history, honey occupied a very important place on religious occasions. The high content of sugars, small amounts of amino acids, lipids, along with some vitamins and minerals imparts its high nutritional value. Honey has good medicinal and antimicrobial properties and is used in different cuisines. Proper processing is essential for a product of good sensory qualities. ISI/Agmark specifications for honey, its adulteration and detection of adulteration are well recorded. The application potential in bakery, confectionery, snack foods, fruit and vegetable products and beverages is ever increasing. A bird's-eye view of these aspects along with possible lines of future research are discussed.

The medicinal value of honey: a review on its benefits to human health, with a special focus on its effects on glycemic regulation

“…In Egypt, beekeeping underwent remarkable development, and representative products of the apiary (e.g., beeswax, honey, pollen, propolis, and royal jelly) were used both as medicine and ceremonial materials, and jars containing residues of honey and related substances have been found in the tombs of several pharaohs (Havsteen, 2002), such as that of Tutankhamun (Kahn et al, 2007). In Greece and Rome, honey was also utilized as medicine and energy food (García et al, 1986;Garret and Grisham, 2001); in India, it has been of great relevance in Ayurvedic Medicine and Unani Medicine for centuries (Aparna and Rajalakshmj, 1999;Agrawal et al, 2007). The therapeutic effect of honey was also known in Persia, as mentioned by the scientist, philosopher and physician Avicenna approximately 1000 years ago in his remarkable book, Canon of Medicine (Avicenna, 1999).…”

“…Despite the evident antimicrobial capacity of honey, as determined by its effective inhibition of bacterial and fungal proliferation and growth, there does not seem to be any clear-cut cause, suggesting that it could correspond to a combined or synergic effect of the antioxidant compounds present (Viuda-Martos et al, 2008). The following properties have been proposed to explain the effect of honey against bacterial growth: (i) the presence of hydrogen peroxide, resulting from the action of the glucose-oxidase enzyme on glucose in presence of oxygen (García et al, 1986;Wahdan, 1998;Molan, 1999a, Khan et al, 2007, a compound whose activity appears to decrease as honey remains in storage (Montenegro et al, 2009); (ii) inherent physicochemical properties, such as its high sugar content (~ 80% w/w) that can produce a high osmotic effect and its acid pH of 3 to 4.5 (Molan, 1992;Bogdanov et al, 1997); (iii) the presence of diverse organic acids (Aparna and Rajalakshmj, 1999), including gluconic acid (also derived from glucose catalysis), which remarkably creates an acidic microenvironment and whose concentration varies considerably from one type of honey to another (White et al, 1963;White, 1978); and (iv) non-peroxidic substances (Cabrera et al, 2006), such as polyphenols, which possess antibacterial activity. These compounds vary depending on the plant species from which the bees gather their nectar (Cooper, 2007) and seem to remain unaltered even after long periods of storage (Viuda-Martos et al, 2008).…”

Attitudes towards honey among Italian consumers: A choice experiment approach

“…Honey is becoming increasingly popular with consumers for its nutritional benefits as 32 well as many other functions (Aparna & Rajalakshmi, 1999 to understand the consumers' needs in order to increase their product satisfaction and earnings 39 (Sillani & Grillenzoni, 2007). honey has crystallized it has gone bad or has been adulterated with sugar, but granulation is 103 one of the characteristics for honey.…”

The relationship between telomere length and beekeeping among Malaysians

“…Bee products such as honey, royal jelly and propolis are widely known for their great antioxidant capacity (Viuda-Martos et al 2008). Honey consists of up to 95 % carbohydrates (Bogdanov et al 2008) and includes an extensive selection of proteins, enzymes, amino acids, minerals, trace elements, vitamins and polyphenolic compounds (Bogdanov et al 2008;AlvarezSuarez et al 2010;Aparna and Rajalakshmi 1999). Antioxidant capacity of honey and propolis is thought to be mainly contributed by the phenolic compounds and flavonoids in them (Aljadi and Kamaruddin 2004).…”