GC–MS investigations of VOCs in South Indian honey samples as environmental biomarkers
2021
Srinivasan, Anbalagan | Maruthavanan, Thiyagarajan | Mayildurai, Rajagopal | Ramasubbu, Alagunambi
Natural honey is a viscous liquid composed of a supersaturated solution of glucose and fructose. Honeybees collect nectar and convert them into honey through biochemical reactions. These small creatures are the major contributors to pollination and food production for humans. At the same time, they are the worst victims of urbanization and irrational use of pesticides, insecticides, and other hazardous materials. Any disturbance to the existence of honeybees is a serious threat to the biodiversity. The quality of a honey sample is largely affected by the contamination of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) due to environmental pollution. The present study analyzes systemically 25 samples of honey harvested from the southern part of the Western Ghats for the probable existence of traces of toxic substances. The samples were subjected to a liquid–liquid extraction process, followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) to identify and characterize the hazardous substances/volatile organic compounds. The results show the presence of nearly 540 VOCs and semi-VOCs comprising alcohols, carboxylic acids, halogenated hydrocarbons, furan and pyran derivatives, and pyridine and pyrazine derivatives. Malonic acid (0.01–0.18%), n-hexa decanoic acid (0.02–8.69%), 9-octa decanoic acid (0.03–4.01%), propanoic acid (1.01%), oleic acid (6.15%), and benzoic acid (1.48%) were found to be present in some of the samples. This investigation would pave the way to identifying the geographical location of floral honey based on the specific VOCs present in the samples.
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