Expanded parameters to assess the quality of honey from Venezuelan bees (Apis melllifera)

VIT, PATRICIA; ANTONIO RODRÍGUEZ-MALAVER; DAVID W ROUBIK; ENRIQUE MORENO; BRUNO ALMEIDA SOUZA; MARÍA TERESA SANCHO; DANIELA ALMEIDA-ANACLETO; LUIS CARLOS MARCHINI; FLORIMAR GIL; CAROLINA GONZÁLEZ; GREANA AGUILERA; BEATRIZ NIEVES

Journal of ApiProduct and ApiMedical Science

Internacional Bee Research Association

Lugar: Groombridge; Año: 2009 vol. 1 p. 72 - 81

Hive samples from seven Venezuelan states were studied to determine the quality of honeys from the naturalized tropical honey bee Apis mellifera,submitted for a national honey competition. The physicochemical composition varied as follows: antibacterial activity as minimal inhibitory concentration for S. aureus and E. coli was 25.0-50.0 g/100 mL, antioxidant activity 34.90-203.21 μmoles Trolox equivalents/100 g, ash 0.03-0.13 g/100 g, diastase activity 3.04-47.81 DN, flavonoids 2.32-14.41 mg EQ/100 g, free acidity 24.4-54.55 meq/kg, HMF 17.73-631.73 mg/kg, moisture content 17.2-20.2 g/100 g, nitrogen 28.68-107.29 mg/100 g, non aromatic organic acids such as D-gluconic acid (13.5-69.3) g/kg, citric acid (8.0-135.4) mg/kg, and malic acid (11.2-60.9) mg/kg, polyphenols 52.00-182.10 mg EGA/100 g, reducing sugars 62.05-77.57 g/100 g, sucrose 0.93-13.86 g/100 g, vitamin C 12.86-37.05 mg/100 g. Botanical origins of the nine honeys, determined by pollen analysis indicate these honeys often were derived from non-forest, non-native and weedy species. The results are a first step to better characterisation of honeys, and some of the parameters were determined for the first time in Venezuelan A. mellifera honey. They can be used for research, educational purposes, and to better understand market values, natural occurrence and chemistry of tropical honey harvested from Apis mellifera.