Determination of organic acids in honey samples from Latvian market by high-performance liquid chromatography Honey is a naturally sweet product, which is produced by honeybees (Apis mellifera). Honey is a natural source of antioxidants and has been known to mankind since ancient times. Honey contains approximately 200 different compounds. Organic acids can be used as an indicator to detect the freshness, authenticity and acidity of honey. The aim of this research was to determine and quantify organic acids such as oxalic, L-tartaric, D-quinic, L-malic, L-ascorbic, citric, fumaric and succinic in honey samples from Latvian market u sing high-performance liquid chromatography. The chromatographic separation of organic acids was carried out with PerkinElmer C18 (4.6 mm Í 250 mm I.D, particle size 5 mm) analytical column at the temperature of 35 °C in wavelength at 210 nm. The obtained results showed that the analysed honey samples contain L-tartaric, D-quinic, L-malic, L-ascorbic, citric, fumaric and succinic acids. The concentration of these acids was found to be variable. Oxalic acid was not detected in the analysed honey samples. L-tartaric acid was the main acid in all analysed honey samples.

Honey is a naturally supersaturated sugar solution, which tends to crystallize. The crystallization of honey can lead to unwanted fermentation that can have a negative impact to honey quality. The production of honey powder could be an alternative method to prevent honey from fermentation. Honey powder could be used as alternative substitute to liquid honey that would allow to use this product more widely in the food industry. α-amylase activity is one of the most important parameters to evaluate the quality of honey. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of freeze-drying and spray-drying on honey α-amylase activity. Detection of α-amylase activity was carried out by spectrophotometric method. High-performance liquid chromatography was used to determine the content of hydroxymethylfurfural in the powders. The obtained results showed that both drying methods had a negative impact to the enzyme activity in the samples. The lowest activity of α-amylase (8.3 DN) was measured in the spray-dried honey powder. Concentration of hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in the powders did not exceed required concentration 40 mg kgE−1.