Sugar profile of honey’ produced in Castelo Branco Region
2019
Venâncio, Tatiana | Resende, Mafalda | Anjos, O.
Honey is a sweet natural food product produced by honey-bees, characterized by high amounts of available sugars, manly, fructose and glucose, and is a rich source of amino acids, vitamins, minerals and other biologically active compounds. Compared to commercial sugar, honey has a lower glycaemic index (blood sugar levels are raised more quickly) due to its higher fructose content, and absence of trace minerals. Sugar profile (fructose, glucose, sucrose, maltose, turanose and trehalose) of 46 honey samples from Castelo Branco region were analysed by high performance anion-exchange chromatography pulsed amperometric detection (HPAEC-PAD) (Anjos et al., 2015). Fructose/glucose ratio ranges between 1.22 and 1.62 g/100 g of honey. Turanose and maltose were present in all samples, 1.91 to 3.78 g/100 g of honey and 0.48 to 2.14 g/100 g of honey, respectively. In 24% of honey samples, sucrose was present at levels lower than 2.9 g/100 g of honey (actual honey reference). Trehalose was identified only in the honey samples from Sabugal and Sertã Municipality. Sertã honey has higher amount of turanose. Glucose has the lower amount observed for Sabugal and Proença-a-Nova Municipality. Honey carbohydrate composition depends on the flower nectar collected by bees as well the regional climatic conditions. Our results suggest the carbohydrate profile could be a good indicator of honeys’ origin.
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