Quality Parameters of Bulgarian Kinds of Bee Honey

Abstract

Review ArticleThe Bulgarian dendrofl ora consists of 359 species, including 368 infraspecific taxa (60 subspecies, 200 varieties and 108 forms) (28,39). There are about 770 species of medicinal plants constituting 20% of the Bulgarian flora. Of these, 200 are currently in use and over 250 herbal drugs are derived from them and presently used in the prophylaxis and medicine, cosmetics and the food industry (24). Bulgarian medicinal plants have a broad diversity of species, rich composition of active ingredients and most of them are nectariferous with great importance for bees.The aim of this work was, based on the data from available literature to provide a summary of the scientifi c information related to the main types of bee honey in Bulgaria in the fi rst decade of the 21 st century More than 3600 varieties of higher plants are found in Bulgaria, which is a good predisposition for the production of different types of bee honey. In the country 11 natural and 3 national parks were registered, where many different kinds of plants can be found, some of them unique in the world. Up till now, more than 11 types of bee honey have been harvested and investigated. The aim of this work was, based on the data from available literature to provide a summary of the scientifi c information related to the main types of bee honey in Bulgaria from 2000 to the present. In the study, we present quality parameters from organically produced and commercially processed bee honeys: pollen analysis, proline content, invertase activity, specifi c optical rotation, electrical conductivity, antioxidant and antibacterial activities. QUALITY PARAMETERS OF BULGARIAN KINDS OF BEE HONEY

Significant parameters of Bulgarian honeydew honey

“…Higher antioxidant activity of honeydew honeys in comparison to other types of honey has been established during the last years, and has increased the interest to this type of honey and its identification (Bobis et al, 2008;Bogdanov, 2009;Wilczyńska, 2010;Dinkov, 2014).…”

A New Approach for Determination of the Botanical Origin of Monofloral Bee Honey, Combining Mineral Content, Physicochemical Parameters, and Self-Organizing Maps

“…This means that, regarding trade relations, honey production is an important part of the gross domestic product of Bulgaria. The bee honey produced in Bulgaria is mainly monofloral (e.g., from rapeseed, sunflower, thistle, linden, acacia, or coriander plants) [ 30 ]. The monofloral origin of the honey determines its higher price.…”

Physicochemical Analysis of Sunflower Honey From Bulgaria

“…), sunflower honey (H. annuus). Some honey types such as black locust, lime, rape coriander, fennel honey were studied and described by Atanassova et al (2012), Dinkov (2014) while data for others such as sunflower honey is insufficient. Sunflower is largely cultivated in many European countries because it represents to bees nectar and pollen (Persano Oddo and Piro 2004).…”