The Use of HPTLC and SDS-PAGE Methods for Coniferous Honeydew Honey Fingerprinting Compiled with Mineral Content and Antioxidant Activity

Abstract

Fir honeydew honey is a uniquely beneficial product which is often subjected to adulteration; however, pollen analysis is not useful to verify this honey type. Fourteen samples of EU protected designation of origin fir honeydew honey gathered directly from apiaries were studied. Standards of legal requirements and additional parameters, i.e., specific optical rotation, mineral content, and antioxidant activity, were tested. Five nectar honeys of different varieties were used as a comparative material. HPTLC and SDS-PAGE methods were used to fingerprint the honey types. All honeys tested fulfilled the quality requirements in terms of water content, pH, total acidity, conductivity, HMF, and diastase number. They were defined as dark amber on the Pfund scale and exhibited positive specific rotation (+2.5 to 25). Honeydew honey surpassed the tested nectar honeys in terms of mineral content and antioxidant activity as well as total polyphenolic content, except for buckwheat honey. The sugar and polyphenolic profile obtained by HPTLC allowed to distinguish honeydew from nectar honeys. The same was achieved by SDS-PAGE protein profiling. Both techniques seem to be cheap and quick tools for precisely distinguishing honeydew honey.

Chemical Composition, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activity of Some Types of Honey from Banat Region, Romania

“…The knotweed honey we analysed had a total polyphenol content of 187 mg GAE/100 g, within the limits of 100−195 mg GAE/100 g obtained by [71]. The honeydew analysed by us had a total polyphenol content of 1159.3 mg GAE/100 g and this corresponds to the data obtained by other authors [73]. The wild cherry honey analysed by us recorded a total polyphenol content of 647.5 mg GAE/100 g, and we have not found studies on this type of honey in the literature.…”

“…In the honey analysed by us, the total phenol content (TPC) was from 177.6 mgGAE /100 g (acacia honey) to 1159.3 mgGAE/100 g (knotweed honey) (Table 2), being similar to the results obtained by [73]. The TPC values of rapeseed honey, sunflower and polyflora were higher compared to the results obtained by other authors.…”

“…Studies have shown that there is a close correlation between antioxidant capacity and the content of flavonoids and polyphenols that depend on the botanical origin [62,65,66,73,74]. Studies undertaken by [62] on sunflower, rapeseed, polyflora honey and honeydew showed values of DPPH between 16.03% (rapeseed honey) and 72.03% (honeydew).…”

SDS-PAGE Protein and HPTLC Polyphenols Profiling as a Promising Tool for Authentication of Goldenrod Honey

“…Based on distinct profiles observed for samples 3, 6 and 10, it can be concluded that the variety is not pure, and the tested honey may originate from various plant sources and even contain an admixture of honeydew. We obtained similar profiles earlier for varietal honeys, although no clear peaks in the range of 40–48 kDa were observed in the case of the multifloral honey analyzed at that time [ 16 ]. Previously, the differences in the band pattern on SDS-PAGE gels between the different types of honey were demonstrated by Baroni et al [ 9 ].…”

“…Ten samples of goldenrod honey and four reference honey samples (heather, honeydew, rape and multifloral) were prepared as in previous work with minor modifications [ 16 ]. One gram of raw honey was dissolved in 1 mL of deionized water containing 2% Nonidet P-40 substitute and 2% dithiothreitol.…”