The presence of phenolic compounds in honeys such as flavonoids and phenolic acids are among the factors responsible for its antioxidant and sensory properties. Analysis of phenolic compounds are regarded as a promising way of studying the floral and geographical origins of honeys. Since the compounds found in honey can vary greatly depending on the specific regions in which they were cultivated, this study investigated the phenolic compound profile of thirty honey samples from different geographical locations across the United States to develop reliable biomarkers of honey geographical origin. Thirty honey samples were analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography electrospray ionization coupled with ion trap mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS). Phenolic acids and flavonoids were extracted from the complex honey matrix using solid phase extraction (SPE) method. The total phenolic content (TPC) of honeys were measured using UV-visible spectrophotometric methods. Multivariate statistical tools such as principal component analysis (PCA) and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were employed for honey classification. The results from this study revealed the presence of 16 phenolic compounds in the 30 analyzed samples with the total phenolic compound concentration ranging from 5.15 µg/g to 80 µg/g. For most of the analyzed samples, there were higher amounts of flavonoids relative to the phenolic acids identified. Our results based on TPC and PCA showed significant differences between the honey phenolic content (p&lt;0.05) and confirmed the grouping of the samples caused by specific phenolic compounds of honeys from various geographical origins. Based on the results obtained in this study, our methods may offer promising tools for the evaluation of honey authenticity and traceability in future studies.

Honey phenolic compound profiling in relationship to geographical sources using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

Where thousands of chemistry professionals meet to share ideas and advance scientific and technical knowledge. Spring 2023 abstracts, posters, and presentations will launch at the end of March.

ACS Spring 2023

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.