Jujube Honey from China: Physicochemical Characteristics and Mineral Contents

Abstract

We investigated and compared the physicochemical properties (moisture, color, ash, pH, electrical conductivity, free acidity, lactonic acidity, total acidity, fructose, glucose, sucrose, diastase activity, and HMF) and mineral contents (Al, Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, As, Cd, Pb, and Zn), as well as total proline and total protein contents of 23 jujube honey samples collected from different regions of China. The mineral content was determined by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The physicochemical values were in the range of approved limits (conforming to EU legislation) in all 23 samples. The physicochemical properties of jujube honey showed significant variations among samples. The mean pH value of the jujube honeys was 6.71. The most abundant minerals were potassium, calcium, sodium, and magnesium, ranging between 1081.4 and 2642.9, 97.1 and 194.2, 7.79 and 127.8, and 10.36 and 24.67 mg/kg, respectively, and potassium made up 71% of the total mineral content. This study demonstrated remarkable variation in physicochemical parameters and mineral contents of jujube honey, mainly depending on its geographic source.

Authentication of honeys from Caramulo region (Portugal): Pollen spectrum, physicochemical characteristics, mineral content, and phenolic profile

“…In the present study, all samples had a percentage of moisture content below the imposed limit of ≤20%, the maximum acceptable moisture content of honey by the European Community Directive (Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries, ; Codex Alimentarius, ). The results presented herein are in accordance with those of other works (Can et al., ; Estevinho et al., ; Karabagias et al., ; Silva et al., , ; Zhou et al., ).…”

“…All samples are below the maximum limit allowed (800 µs/cm) by Portuguese and European legislation (Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries, ; Codex Alimentarius, ). These values are similar to those found in other studies (Belay et al., ; Karabagias et al., ; Louppis, Karabagias, Kontakos, Kontominas, & Papastephanou, ; Mondragón‐Cortez et al., ; Silva et al., ; Zhou et al., ). Several works reported that a linear relationship exists between the ash content and the electrical conductivity (Buba et al., ; Mondragón‐Cortez et al., ; Silva et al., , ).…”

“…The total acidity is the sum of free and lactonic acidities. These criteria allow to assess the honey fermentation, to authenticate monofloral honeys, and to distinguish between nectar and honeydew honeys (Silva et al., ; Terrab et al., ; Zhou et al., ). The free acidity of all samples indicates that the honey samples were fresh and did not suffer unwanted fermentations, being in accordance with the Portuguese and European legislations (below 50 meq/kg), showing an average of 22.6 ± 6.19 meq/kg.…”

“…In this study, all samples are within the acceptable European limit, presenting a high degree of freshness (HMF levels below 40 mg/kg honey) (Truchado, Ferreres, & Tomas‐barberan, ), ranging between 0.5 ± 0.00 and 6.2 ± 0.32 mg/kg, with an average of 2.1 ± 1.42 mg/kg (Table ). On the other hand, diastase activity evaluates whether honey has been extensively heated during processing because this enzyme is weakened and destroyed by heat and storage factors (Zhou et al., ). As expected, the samples analyzed were fresh (>8 °Gothe) and coincide with the information provided by the producers, exhibiting a range of 9.2 to 25.3 °Gothe, and a mean of 16.3 ± 4.75 °Gothe (Table ).…”

Classification of Honey from Its Bee Origin via Chemical Profiles and Mineral Content

“…As the raw honey samples were collected from different locations, the variations of mineral element in honey depended on the type of soil in which the nectar-producing plants grow and on the vegetation conditions in the forage area (Pohl 2009). The potassium content of the raw honey samples was comparable to honeydew honey from Poland with 2641.9 mg/kg and honey from China with 1081.4 mg/kg (Chudzinska and Baralkiewicz 2010;Zhou et al 2013).…”