Review of Honeydew Honeys

Honeydew honeys: a review on characterization and authentication of the botanical and geographical origin

J Agric Food Chem. 2018 Feb 20

The commercial interest in honeydew honeys (from secretions of plants or excretions of plant-sucking insects on plants) is increasing due to the higher therapeutic properties than those of most blossom honeys (from nectar). However, honeydew honeys have been less studied than blossom honeys.

In this work, studies carried out to characterize and authenticate honeydew honeys by botanical and geographic origins have been reviewed. The identification of the honey origin has been approached by two ways: chemical markers and development of analytical methodology combined with multivariate analysis.

Some compounds have been suggested as specific botanical markers of several honeydew honeys: quercitol and trans-oak lactone for oak honey; 2-aminoacetophenone and propylanisol for holm oak; and 1-chloro-octane and tridecane for pine honey. 3-Carene and an unidentified compound in samples were proposed to discriminate between Greek and Turkish pine honeys. Chemometric analysis has been applied on chemical composition and physicochemical, microscopic, or spectra parameters and proved to be a valuable way for authenticating honeydew honeys.

The analytical methods based on spectra information are suitable for the routine control of the honeydew honeys origin because they are fast and require an easy sample preparation.