Evaluation of Honeys in Some Quality Indicators Obtained from Different Plant Species and Locations

Abstract

The publication aimed to evaluate 40 samples of honey obtained from beekeepers from different types of plants (monofloral – Aesculus hippocastanum, Brassica napus, Fagopyrum esculentum, Helianthus annuus, Phacelia tanacetifolia, Robinia pseudoacacia, Sinapis alba, Tillia spp., and multiflorous) and different locations (Donetsk, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Kherson and Ivano-Frankivsk) in Ukraine in selected quality indicators. We determined significant differences between the samples in all honey quality indicators. In the collection of honey samples, we determined Moisture in the range of 15.20–23.20%, diastase 1.10–22.26 °Goethe, hydroxymethylfurfural 1.50–29.00 mg.kg^-1, sugar content 66.51–98.87%, sucrose 0.23–9.61% and proline content 119.29–334.31 mg.kg^-1. The quality indicators of the evaluated honey samples were determined within the limits according to the established criteria of Codex Alimentarius and EU legislation. We determined a water content of more than 20% in three honey samples. We determined lower HMF values than 3 in 4 honey samples and higher HMF values than 1 in 3 honey samples. We determined a lower proline content than 180 mg.kg^-1 in 16 honey samples. We determined higher values of sucrose content than 5 g.100g^-1 in 5 evaluated honey samples. The results confirmed significant differences between the evaluated honey samples. Some samples of evaluated honey did not reach the required criteria for honey quality.