Physicochemical Properties of a New Green Honey from Banggi Island, Sabah

Abstract

Green honey is exclusively available on the island of Banggi in Sabah, and its uniqueness sees the commodity being sold at a high market price. Therefore, green honey is prone to adulteration by unscrupulous individuals, possibly compromising the health of those consuming this food commodity for its curative properties. Moreover, an established standard for reducing sugar in green honey is unavailable. Ipso facto, the study aimed to profile green honey’s physical and chemical properties, such as its pH, moisture content, free acidity, ash content, electroconductivity, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, DPPH, colour, total sugar content, total protein content, and heavy metals as well as volatile organic compounds, the data of which are profoundly valuable in safeguarding consumers’ safety while providing information for its quality certification for local consumption and export. The results revealed that the honey’s physicochemical profile is comparable to other reported kinds of honey. The honey’s naturally green colour is because of the chlorophyll from the nectar from various flowers on the island. The raw honey showed free acidity between 28 and 33 Meq/100 g, lower than the standard’s 50 Meq/100 g. The hydroxymethylfurfural content is the lowest compared to other reported honey samples, with the total phenolic content between 16 and 19 mg GAE/100 g. The honey’s reducing sugar content is lower (~37.9%) than processed ones (56.3%) because of water removal. The protein content ranged from 1 to 2 gm/kg, 4- to 6-fold and 2-fold higher than local and manuka honey, respectively. The exceptionally high content of trans-4-hydroxyproline in raw honey is its source of collagen and other healing agents. Interestingly, low levels of arsenic, lead, nickel, cadmium, copper, and cobalt were detected in the honey samples, presumably due to their subterranean hives. Nevertheless, the honey is fit for general consumption as the concentrations were below the maxima in the Codex Alimentarius Commission of 2001.

Analysis of 18 Free Amino Acids in Honeybee and Bumblebee Honey from Eastern and Northern Europe and Central Asia Using HPLC-ESI-TQ-MS/MS Approach Bypassing Derivatization Step

“…Apart from the major AAs observed, the concentration of aspartic acid was found to be high exceptionally in bumblebee honey, contributing up to 4.6% to the total amount of AAs. The concentration of aspartic acid in this type of honey was found to be similar to those observed by Rajindran et al [ 38 ] for raw green and Manuka honey originating from Banggi Island, Sabah. The outstanding prevalence of aspartic acid in bumblebee honey can be used as a marker clarifying its authenticity.…”

High frequency of fraud in honey without sanitary inspection illegally sold in São Paulo State

“…The acidity in honey is the result of organic acids derived from nectar by the action of glucose oxidase, which forms gluconic acid through bacteria during the honey maturation process, in addition to the number of minerals present in honey. A high acid value indicates the fermentation of sugars into organic acids and significantly interferes with the sensory characteristics of the product, as high values can cause a decrease in the existing microbial control (Imtara et al, 2018;Rajindran et al, 2022;Seraglio et al, 2021). Rajindran et al (2022) obtained values above 50 mEq/kg in unripe honey with a high moisture content, which enables even more deterioration, corroborating this study that 12.9% of illegal honey had a high moisture content.…”

“…Out-of-compliance samples for moisture content were also reported by other studies. Ito et al (2018) obtained a variation of 21.44 to 27.51% in 14 analyzed samples, similar to the pattern found in samples of green honey analyzed by Rajindran et al (2022), where a high moisture content is expected due to its early collection.…”

Insularity and its impact on stingless bee honey properties: A case study in the Zanzibar Archipelago (Tanzania)

“…[36][37][38] Islands and their unique flora provide unparalleled opportunities to test a wide range of hitherto little explored ecological questions, including the impact of insularity in all its environmental and climatic components on flowering plant community composition, and on how this phenomenon, in turn, drives differences in the physical-chemical characteristics. [39][40][41][42][43] To date, most studies on stingless bee honey composition have been conducted in the Neotropics, whereas honeys from Afrotropical species (that are occurring in sub-Saharan Africa) have received comparatively little attention 16 beyond the confirmation that that stingless bee honey is also used to treat several diseases in the Afrotropics. 44,45 In this study, we aimed to contribute filling this gap by investigating the impact of geographical origin on physico-chemical composition and therapeutic potential of Afrotropical stingless bee honey.…”

“…Islands are often depicted as “natural laboratories” into which the evolution of organisms and the non‐random, unique biotic community assemblages are taking sometimes radically different routes 36–38 . Islands and their unique flora provide unparalleled opportunities to test a wide range of hitherto little explored ecological questions, including the impact of insularity in all its environmental and climatic components on flowering plant community composition, and on how this phenomenon, in turn, drives differences in the physical–chemical characteristics 39–43 . To date, most studies on stingless bee honey composition have been conducted in the Neotropics, whereas honeys from Afrotropical species (that are occurring in sub‐Saharan Africa) have received comparatively little attention 16 beyond the confirmation that that stingless bee honey is also used to treat several diseases in the Afrotropics 44,45 …”