The volatile profile for discrimination of lavender and heather honey, using solid phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry
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abstract
Honey is a natural product produced by Apis mellifera bees from the nectar or secretions of plants, which
has a long history of human consumption. It is also used in various foods and beverages as a sweetener
and flavouring. The main parameters of honey quality, which also influence its price, are derived from its
botanical origin. Honey volatiles have been used as markers for its authenticity. They may arise from the
nectar source, from the transformation of plant compounds by the honeybee, directly generated by
honeybee, from heating or handling during honey processing and storage or from microbial or
environmental contamination [1].
The aim of this work is the discrimination of monofloral Lavandula spp. and Erica spp. honeys through its
volatile profile. For that, eighteen samples from both lavender and heather honey, were analyzed. Volatiles
were sampled by headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) using a 65 μm polydimethylsiloxane
divinylbenzene (PDMS/DVB) fiber. The chemical identification was performed by gas chromatographymass
spectrometry (GC-MS). A complex total ion chromatogram was obtained, with nearly seventy
compounds identified and quantified. The aldehydes and terpenic derivatives were the most likely to
relate honey to its floral origin, being phenylacetaldehyde and nonanal the most representative in
lavender honey while hotrienol was the most abundant in the heather honeys. The above methodology
was suitable for the isolation of low-molecular-weight aroma compounds, particularly for the short-chain
aliphatic compounds that are important for authentication of lavender and heather honey.
Soraia I. Falcão thanks FCT for the Post-Doc grant SFRH/BPD/118987/2016 and IACOBUS program for financing her
stay in Vigo University. The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) and
FEDER under Programme PT2020 for financial support to CIMO (UID/AGR/00690/2013). Thanks to Portuguese
Beekeepers National Federation for honey samples supply.
