Honey is a complex and interesting substance comprised of several organic compounds that differ based on botanical origin. Eight samples of various Kentucky honeys were collected for experimentation and evaluation. In this ongoing experiment, each sample will be evaluated for (including a standard, industrial processed clover honey) moisture content by way of refractometry, hydroxymethylfurfural content with UV-vis, reducing and inverted sugar identification using the Lane-Eynon method, and flavonoid and phenolic compound identification with HPLC. Although there are several different types of honey, the experiment will be controlled by using only clover honey. The goal of this experiment is to identify and analyze the organic components of honey and determine whether Kentucky honey contains flavonoids or phenolic compounds specific to the region when compared to the standard and/or other studies done on the topic. Careful analytical procedure will be taken in order to determine the amounts and identities of compounds found in the honeys chosen to run the experiment on. In doing this, the greatest focus will be on flavonoid and phenolic compound identification, in which flavonoids/phenolics will be separated from the sugars and other polar compounds using Amberlite XAD-2. The utilization of HPLC will take advantage of retention times established in other academic articles (in addition to spiking with standard flavonoid/phenolic samples as needed) to determine the identities of the chemicals present in honeys farmed in Kentucky.

Chemical characterization of Kentucky honeys

2019 Spring National Meeting

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