Determination of C4 sugars and invertase of multifloral honey samples from Bulgaria

Ralitsa Balkanska, Ivayla Parvina, Todorka Yankovska-Stefanova, Vanya Manolova

Abstract: Honey is a natural product and it is famous for its tremendous therapeutic potential since ancient times. Also, honey is an excellent and widely used food. In this respect as a human food, honey should be pure and unadulterated. On the other hand, an increase in the demand for honey has resulted in adulteration by different sugar syrups. Therefore, the quality is important for consumer confidence. The data about C4 sugars in Bulgarian honey samples is not available. Thus, the results presented in this study could be considered as a first step for characterisation in respect of this parameter. The aim of the present study was to determine invertase and C4 sugars in honey samples. In the present study, 111 honey samples from Bulgaria were analyzed. Only 5 of them were adulterated with C4 sugars. No significant correlation was found between the invertase activity and the content of C4 sugars in all analyzed honey samples. We expect our report to be a starting point for wider investigations, particularly aimed at a deeper understanding of the quality and authenticity of bee honey.

Keywords: C4 sugars; honey; honey adulteration; honey quality; invertase activity; multifloral honey

Date published: 2018-11-02