Importance of chromatographic and spectrophotometric methods in determining authenticity, classification and bioactivity of honey

摘要

Determination of the botanical origin and bioactivity of honey is crucial parameters that may effect health benefits and market value of honey. Melissopalynology is frequently practiced for identifiying its botanical origin, however, this study may sometimes not allow a clear authentication of its origin. Therefore, complementary methods as chromatographic techniques are recommended to accomplish the purpose. In this study, thirty-three Turkish honeys were first authenticated by melissopalynology and classified as honeydew and blossom honeys. Then, phenolic characterization and quantification in honeys were performed by highperformance thin-layer chromatographic (HPTLC) and a validated liquid chromatographic (HPLC) methods, respectively and applicability of these methods in place of melissopalinology was evaluated. Pine, chestnut, and sunflower honeys showed individually characteristic HPTLC fingerprint. Key markers were quantified by HPLC and caffeic acid, one of the marker components, was found to be highest in sunflower honey as 2.63 +/- 0.04 mg/g. Honeys were further subjected to principal component (PCA) and hierarchical clustering (HCA) analyses according to the key markers and pine, chestnut, and sunflower honeys were grouped independently. In terms of bioactivity, pine honey showed the highest antioxidant effect among investigated samples. Lastly, some phenolic compounds were found to contribute significantly to the antioxidant effect of honeys by HPTLC-DPPH.