Changes in α-amylase activity in honey during the freeze-drying process

Keke, A.; Cinkmanis, I.

Changes in α-amylase activity in honey during the freeze-drying process

2020

Keke, A. | Cinkmanis, I.

Honey is a natural product, which is appreciated for its sweetness, high nutritionalvalue and health benefits all over the world. Despite all benefits, the usage of honey in foodindustry is limited due to its high viscosity. The use of dried honey could be an alternative toliquid honey, and would allow to use it as an additive in a range of many different food productssuch as sauces, beverages, yogurts etc. There are many parameters, which are used to determinatethe quality of honey. α-amylase (diastase) activity is one of the most important criteria todetermine the quality and freshness of honey. The aim of the present study was to investigate andcompare α-amylase activity in liquid honey samples and freeze-dried honey samples. Overall, 18honey samples were dehydrated using a freeze-drying method. Freeze-drying of the samples wascarried out at – 50.6 °C and the pressure was 0.036 mbar for 72 hours. α-amylase activity in thehoney samples was tested using Amylazyme test tablets. The obtained results showed variabilityin α-amylase activity after the freeze-drying process. As hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is anotherimportant quality parameter of honey, the content of HMF was determined in the samples by highperformance liquid chromatography. In some samples the concentration of HMF after freezedrying increased and was higher than it is allowed according to the International HoneyCommission (for example, 55.75 mg kg-1).

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