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Authenticity of Honey: Characterization, Bioactivities and Sensorial Properties Series II
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Authenticity of Honey: Characterization, Bioactivities and Sensorial Properties Series II

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Quality and Safety".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 January 2024) | Viewed by 9491

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Olga Escuredo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Vegetal Biology and Soil Science, Faculty of Science, University of Vigo, As Lagoas, 32004 Ourense, Spain
Interests: characterization of honeybee products; melissopalynology; unifloral honeys; physicochemical properties; sensorial characterization; healthy compounds
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. M. Carmen Seijo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Vegetal Biology and Soil Science, Faculty of Science, University of Vigo, As Lagoas, 32004 Ourense, Spain
Interests: characterization of honeybee products; melissopalynology; unifloral honeys; physicochemical properties; sensorial characterization; healthy compounds
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Honey is a very complex food, to which many healthy properties are attributed. Some of these properties are highly related to the quality and botanical origin of the product. In this sense, the identification of the properties of each honey type is one of the main concerns for consumers, beekeepers and researchers. Specifically, these studies are required to guarantee authenticity and to discriminate unifloral honey. The improvement of this knowledge is directly related to the commercial value of honey. There are several techniques used to evaluate antioxidant and antimicrobial, physical and chemical characteristics, as well as the sensory characterization of honey.

This Special Issue aims to publish innovative research dealing with the authenticity, characterization, and biological properties of honey. We would like to invite researchers to submit unpublished manuscripts and review papers on the botanical profile, chemical composition, sensorial characteristics, functional properties, healthy compounds, and other subjects related to honey.

Dr. Olga Escuredo
Prof. Dr. M. Carmen Seijo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • botanical origin 
  • honey composition 
  • physicochemical characteristics 
  • sensorial attributes 
  • biological properties 
  • phytochemical markers 
  • unifloral honey

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 2077 KiB  
Article
Multi-Element Profile Characterization of Monofloral and Polyfloral Honey from Latvia
by Kriss Davids Labsvards, Vita Rudovica, Anastasija Borisova, Kristina Kokina, Maris Bertins, Jevgenija Naumenko and Arturs Viksna
Foods 2023, 12(22), 4091; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12224091 - 11 Nov 2023
Viewed by 1042
Abstract
Honey is of scientific interest mainly due to its health-promoting and antibacterial properties, which are also associated with its floral origins. However, the methods for confirming honey floral origins are quite limited and require improvements. One method suggested in the search for a [...] Read more.
Honey is of scientific interest mainly due to its health-promoting and antibacterial properties, which are also associated with its floral origins. However, the methods for confirming honey floral origins are quite limited and require improvements. One method suggested in the search for a multi-method approach to evaluating the floral origins of Latvian honey is inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). This study investigated the multi-element profile of 83 honey samples of well-specified floral origins. The main findings included using Ba, Ca, Cs, Fe, and Rb as indicator elements for heather honey. The chemometric evaluation supported the use of ICP-MS for distinguishing heather honey from other types of honey. The Latvian polyfloral honey multi-element profile was defined and compared to honey samples with other geographical origins. Additionally, the multi-element profiles of buckwheat, clover, and polyfloral honey proteins were investigated to clarify whether the majority of elements were bound with proteins or not. Preliminary results indicated that Ca, K, Mg, Mn, Na, and Sr were mainly found in non-protein-bound forms, while the majority of Al, Cu, Ni, and Zn were in the form of large chemical structures (>10 kDa). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Authenticity of Honey: Characterization, Bioactivities and Sensorial Properties Series II)
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12 pages, 4168 KiB  
Article
Antioxidants Discovery for Differentiation of Monofloral Stingless Bee Honeys Using Ambient Mass Spectrometry and Metabolomics Approaches
by Wei Chean Chuah, Huei Hong Lee, Daniel H. J. Ng, Ai Ling Ho, Mohd Rosni Sulaiman and Fook Yee Chye
Foods 2023, 12(12), 2404; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12122404 - 18 Jun 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1419
Abstract
Stingless bee honey (SBH) is a natural, sweet product produced by stingless bees (Meliponini tribe) that has been used as a traditional medicine to treat various illnesses. It has been shown that SBH has high nutritional value and health-promoting properties due to the [...] Read more.
Stingless bee honey (SBH) is a natural, sweet product produced by stingless bees (Meliponini tribe) that has been used as a traditional medicine to treat various illnesses. It has been shown that SBH has high nutritional value and health-promoting properties due to the presence of plant bioactive compounds from different botanical flora of the foraged nectar. In this study, the antioxidant activities of seven monofloral honeys from acacia, agarwood, coconut, dwarf mountain pine (DMP), Mexican creeper (MC), rubber, and starfruit botanical origins were investigated. The antioxidant properties of SBH studied had a range from 19.7 to 31.4 mM TE/mg for DPPH assays, 16.1 to 29.9 mM TE/mg for ABTS assays, 69.0 to 167.6 mM TE/mg for ORAC assays, and 45.5 to 89.3 mM Fe2+/mg for FRAP assays. Acacia honey showed the highest level of antioxidant properties. The models built from mass spectral fingerprints from direct ambient mass spectrometry showed distinct clusters of SBH by botanical origin and correlated with the antioxidant properties. An untargeted liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) metabolomics approach was undertaken to identify the antioxidant compounds that could explain the unique antioxidant and compositional profiles of the monofloral SBH by its botanical origin. The antioxidants that were identified predominantly consisted of alkaloids and flavonoids. Flavonoid derivatives, which are potent antioxidants, were found to be key markers of acacia honey. This work provides the fundamental basis for the identification of potential antioxidant markers in SBH associated with the botanical origin of the foraged nectar. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Authenticity of Honey: Characterization, Bioactivities and Sensorial Properties Series II)
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16 pages, 1027 KiB  
Article
Multivariate Statistical Approach for the Discrimination of Honey Samples from Galicia (NW Spain) Using Physicochemical and Pollen Parameters
by Olga Escuredo, María Shantal Rodríguez-Flores, Montserrat Míguez and María Carmen Seijo
Foods 2023, 12(7), 1493; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12071493 - 01 Apr 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1262
Abstract
Raw honey is a food with a close relation to the territory in which it is produced because of factors such as soil conditions, weather patterns, and plant communities living in the area together. Furthermore, beekeeping management affects the properties of honey. Protected [...] Read more.
Raw honey is a food with a close relation to the territory in which it is produced because of factors such as soil conditions, weather patterns, and plant communities living in the area together. Furthermore, beekeeping management affects the properties of honey. Protected Geographical Indication Miel de Galicia protects the honey produced in Galicia (Northwest Spain). Various types of honeys (362 samples) from this geographical area were analyzed using chemometric techniques. Principal component analysis was favorable to analyzing the physicochemical and pollen variables with the greatest weight in the differentiation of honey. The linear discriminant analysis correctly classified 89.8% of the samples according to the botanical origin using main pollen spectra and physicochemical attributes (moisture, pH, electrical conductivity, diastase content, phenols, flavonoids, and color). Regarding unifloral honey, blackberry, eucalyptus, and heather honeys were correctly grouped, while five chestnut honeys and fourteen samples of honeydew honeys were misclassified. The chestnut and honeydew honeys have similar physicochemical properties and frequently similar pollen spectra profiles complicating the differentiation. Experimental evidence suggests the potential of multivariate statistics in the characterization of honey of the same geographical origin. Therefore, the classification results were good, with electrical conductivity, total phenol content, total flavonoid content and dominant pollens Eucalyptus, Erica, Rubus and Castanea sativa as the variables of higher importance in the differentiation of botanical origin of honeys. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Authenticity of Honey: Characterization, Bioactivities and Sensorial Properties Series II)
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22 pages, 4166 KiB  
Article
Influence of the Physical State of Two Monofloral Honeys on Sensory Properties and Consumer Satisfaction
by Maria Lucia Piana, Marta Cianciabella, Giulia Maria Daniele, Anna Badiani, Pietro Rocculi, Silvia Tappi, Edoardo Gatti, Gian Luigi Marcazzan, Massimiliano Magli, Chiara Medoro and Stefano Predieri
Foods 2023, 12(5), 986; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12050986 - 26 Feb 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1223
Abstract
Honey is a worldwide known and appreciated food product. Its appreciation by consumers is due to both its nutritional properties and the extremely reduced processing. The floral origin, color, aroma and taste are key factors in determining the quality of honey. Nevertheless, rheological [...] Read more.
Honey is a worldwide known and appreciated food product. Its appreciation by consumers is due to both its nutritional properties and the extremely reduced processing. The floral origin, color, aroma and taste are key factors in determining the quality of honey. Nevertheless, rheological properties, as crystallization rate, play a fundamental role in the perceived overall quality. Indeed, crystallized honey is often considered of poor quality by consumers, but a fine-grained or creamy texture is becoming interesting from the producers’ side. The purpose of this study was to investigate textural and aromatic properties and consumers’ perception and acceptance of two monofloral honeys that were differently crystallized. Liquid and creamy samples were obtained from crystallized samples. Physico-chemical, descriptive and dynamic sensory analysis, as well as consumer and CATA tests, were conducted on the three honey textures. The physico-chemical analysis well-discriminated the crystallization levels and evidenced that, although the honey variety was different, the textural properties of the creamy samples are very similar. Crystallization was shown to affect the honey sensory perceptions: liquid samples were sweeter, but less aromatic. Consumer tests allowed the validation of panel data and confirmed consumers’ higher appreciation for liquid and creamy honey. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Authenticity of Honey: Characterization, Bioactivities and Sensorial Properties Series II)
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11 pages, 2136 KiB  
Communication
Influence of Stirring Parameters on Creaminess of Spring Blossom Honey Measured by Crystal Size, Whiteness Index and Mouthfeel
by Mario Meixner, Mareike Weber, Sebastian Lella, Wilfried Rozhon and Margot Dasbach
Foods 2023, 12(1), 48; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12010048 - 22 Dec 2022
Viewed by 1680
Abstract
Spring blossom honey from regions with many rape fields tends to crystalize rapidly after harvesting. The crystallization process needs to be controlled by stirring in order to avoid the formation of coarse crystals and to ensure the creaminess of honey. The aim of [...] Read more.
Spring blossom honey from regions with many rape fields tends to crystalize rapidly after harvesting. The crystallization process needs to be controlled by stirring in order to avoid the formation of coarse crystals and to ensure the creaminess of honey. The aim of this study was to investigate how various parameters of the stirring process influence the creaminess of spring blossom honey in order to give recommendations for beekeeping practices. The creaminess was quantified by measuring the crystal size by microscopic analysis, measuring the whiteness index by color analysis using CIE Lab and by sensory analysis. We investigated the influence of five stirring parameters, including the type of stirring device, honey pretreatment, stirring temperature (14 °C to room temperature), stirring interval (1 to 24 times) and stirring time (1–15 min) on the creaminess of honey. We found that the stirring temperature is the most important factor for honey creaminess. At the optimal temperature of 14 °C, other factors like seed honey, stirring time and stirring interval have only a neglectable effect. If the optimal temperature of 14 °C cannot be maintained, as it may happen in beekeepers’ practice, sieving the honey with a mesh size of 200 µm before stirring, the addition of seed honey prepared with a kitchen food processor, and using a stirring screw and stirring several times per day is recommended. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Authenticity of Honey: Characterization, Bioactivities and Sensorial Properties Series II)
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22 pages, 1174 KiB  
Article
Organic Honey from the Middle Atlas of Morocco: Physicochemical Parameters, Antioxidant Properties, Pollen Spectra, and Sugar Profiles
by Toufik Bouddine, Hassan Laaroussi, Meryem Bakour, Ibtissame Guirrou, Farid Khallouki, Hamid Mazouz, Hassan Hajjaj and Lhoussain Hajji
Foods 2022, 11(21), 3362; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11213362 - 26 Oct 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2026
Abstract
This work aimed to characterize and compare the physicochemical, ascorbic acid, phenolic, and flavonoid compounds, as well as the antioxidant properties, pollen spectra, and sugar profiles of twenty-three organic honeys produced in the Middle Atlas of Morocco. As results, the pollen analysis showed [...] Read more.
This work aimed to characterize and compare the physicochemical, ascorbic acid, phenolic, and flavonoid compounds, as well as the antioxidant properties, pollen spectra, and sugar profiles of twenty-three organic honeys produced in the Middle Atlas of Morocco. As results, the pollen analysis showed 22 taxa and revealed the dominance of Ziziphus lotus pollens for all monofloral honeys. The moisture content ranged from 15.9 to 19.0%, pH values werebetween 3.9 and 4.8, electrical conductivity varied from 100 to 581 µs/cm, ash content varied from 0.1 to 2.4%, and the invertase activity ranged from 3.5 to 36 U/kg. Moreover, hydroxymethylfurfural(HMF) varied from 1.2 to 13.5 mg/kg, which confirmed the freshness of our honey samples. For the sugar profiles, there were no significant differences between the examined groups of honeys (p > 0.05) for both fructose and glucose. Additionally, our study showed good antioxidant properties (total antioxidant activity ranged from 34.18 to 131.20 mg AAE/g; DPPH IC50 values ranged from 8.14 to 45.20 mg/mL; ABTS IC50 values ranged from 8.19 to 32.76 mg/mL) and high amounts of phenolic compounds ranging between 20.92 ± 0.03 and 155.89 ± 0.03 mg GAE/100 g, respectively; flavonoid compounds ranged from 5.52 to 20.69 mg QE/100 g, and ascorbic acid ranged from 8.01 to 23.26 mg/100 g. Overall, the proximate composition and the general characterization of organic monofloral and polyfloral honeys as sustainable and health-promising functional products may increase their commercial values, promote their marketability, and might have a significant impact on the basic circular/sustainable economy as a solid lever for solidarity economic development, especially in the rural/poor Moroccan communities. The investigated features may allow and support the incorporation of Moroccan organic honeys and their biovaluable ingredients in the nutraceutical and food industries for multiple purposes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Authenticity of Honey: Characterization, Bioactivities and Sensorial Properties Series II)
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