Typical physicochemical profile of lemon honey from Tucumán, Argentina. A contribution to their identification

SAMMAN N; RIOS, F.; LOBO, M.

Lisboa

Conferencia; 13th International Food Data Conference (IFDC); 2019

INFOODS; Instituto Nacional de Saúde Dr. Ricardo Jorge

Introduction In recent years there has been a greater demand of honey whose composition, traceability and authenticity are well specified.ObjectiveThe aim of this work was to define a characteristic profile for monofloral citrus lemon honey (Citrus limon (L.)) from the province of Tucumán, northwest Argentina.Material and MethodsThe samples of honey (n=53) were collected in two seasons and from different geographical regions in Tucuman. Samples were analyzed to determine physicochemical parameters (AOAC methodology). Principal component analysis (PCA) and Cluster analysis (CA) were used as exploratory methods. The melissopalynological studies showed that 64% samples contained at least 15% Citrus lemon pollen. The physicochemical parameters complied with the Argentine and international food regulation (CAA, Codex Alimentarius). ResultsThe results (mean± standard deviation) of the physicochemical parameters were: 16.96 ± 0.77% moisture; 70,33 ± 2,85% reducing sugars; 75,44 ± 2.88% total sugars; 4.85 ± 0.91% apparent sucrose; 0.11 ± 0.03% ash; 25.38 ± 6.00 (DN) diastase activity; 18.71 ± 3.78 (meq/kg) total acidity; 25.38 ± 9.55 (mg / kg) hidroxymethylfurfural and 0.41 ± 0.07 (mS/cm) electric conductivity. More than 75% of the total variance was explained by the first two factors in the PCA. The most highlighted attributes were the electrical conductivity followed by the total acidity which are widely used as discriminants of botanical and geographical origin. The high value of the variability explained indicates the similarity between the honeys, corroborating that they belong to the same botanical and geographical origin. LDA applied to physicochemical data allowed to distinguish two different groups with a significant function (p