Sensory and volatile profiles of monofloral honeys produced by native stingless bees of the brazilian semiarid region

Abstract

Monofloral honeys produced by stingless bees M. subnitida Ducke and M. scutellaris Latrelle in typical flowering of the Brazilian semi-arid Ziziphus juazeiro Mart (juazeiro), Croton heliotropiifolius Kunth (velame branco) and Mimosa arenosa willd Poir (jurema branca) were characterized in relation to volatile and sensorial profile. It identified 11 sensory descriptors and 96 volatile compounds. It was noticed a strong effect of flowering in sensorial profile and volatile of honeys. Juazeiro honey stood out with a higher characteristic aroma, taste sweet, caramel flavor and levels of aromatic aldehydes; jurema honey has been described with herb and beeswax aroma and the presence of sulfur compounds and ketones; volatile acids associated with acid taste, medicinal taste and clove aroma characterized the velame branco honey. These results demonstrate that the knowledge of the sensory and aroma profile of these honeys can contribute to characterization of its floral and geographical identity.

The power of odour volatiles from unifloral melipona honey evaluated by gas chromatography–olfactometry Osme techniques

“…Short‐chain acids, such as acetic acid, have a spicy aroma and taste, whereas those with longer chains are associated with a rancid aroma. In addition, according to the study by Costa et al , the ‘floral aroma’ attribute characterized the ‘velame branco’ honeys, and cis ‐linalool oxide and 2‐pentadecanone, which were described as ‘floral, rose’ and ‘lavender’ respectively, could be involved in the development of the floral aroma perceived by the sensory team in the descriptive quantitative analysis.…”

“…Studies performed by our research group on the sensory and volatile profiles of monofloral honeys produced by stingless bees from typical flowers of the semiarid northeast region of Brazil indicated a strong effect of the flowers on the sensory and volatile profiles of the honeys . The honey from Croton heliotropiifolius Kunth (‘velame branco’) flowers stood out in the volatile profile due to the presence of acids associated with the acidic taste, in addition to being described as having a medicinal flavour and a clove, floral and medicinal odour .…”

Chemical Properties, Rheological Behavior, and Melissopalynological Analysis of Selected Brazilian Honeys from Hovenia dulcis Flowering

“…In some situations, the bees can get other sources of supply or use different collection schedules to avoid competition with other species. Regarding the classification according to the occurrence of grains, only three analyzed samples (PR, SC, and RSa) were correctly labeled once they presented >45% of H. dulcis dominant pollen [9,27].…”

“…All these factors influence the concentration of sugars, minerals, vitamins, and bioactive compounds. Thus, the aroma, taste, and color of honey differ according to its geographical origin and floral source [2,8,9], which is usually written on the label of this product in the Brazilian market to indicate what is the dominant pollen of its composition.…”

“…The characterization of MH is usually performed by melissopalynology, which allows the authentication of the dominant pollen [9,13,14]. However, other improved techniques are reported, as the case of atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry [8], light and scanning electron microscopy [10], liquid chromatography [13], in addition to chemometric tools [12,15] and rheology [7,16].…”