3.2.5. Diastase Activity

It is well known that the natural enzyme diastase is an indicator of freshness in honey. The activity of the enzyme can be a measure of honey exposure to heat and/or inappropriate storage conditions [15,46]. All the honey samples in the present study were observed to have diastase activity, which was in accord with UAE standards [35]. The minimum standard value for the diastase index observed was 8 in all the samples, except 1 (honey, diastase value = 2). It is probable that this sample was not fresh or was inadequately pasteurized. This is in contrast with results from a study conducted on honey in Oman, where 16 of 58 samples did not conform to the GSO standard. In Iran, Kazeminia et al. (2021) [25] observed that 46.5% of 43 honey samples were non-compliant with standards for diastase activity. Compliant values for diastase were reported for honey in Ethiopia [47] and Argentina [48].
