Physicochemical, bioactive properties and antioxidant of Apis mellifera L. honey from western Paraná, Southern Brazil
Douglas Galhardo, Regina Conceição Garcia, Cibele Regina Schneider, Gilberto Costa Braga, Émerson Dechechi Chambó, Daiane Luckmann Balbinotti de França, Sandra Mara Ströher
Abstract
The Southern region of Brazil is known for its floral diversity, presenting great potential for bee products such as honey, pollen, propolis and royal jelly. In this study, 67 honey samples provided by beekeepers from 14 municipalities of western Paran were evaluated. Physicochemical parameters, bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity were analyzed. The physicochemical parameters of the samples were in compliance with the specifications by national and international standards, presenting average values of 3.26, 34.54 meq.kg -1 , 18.75%, 10.79 mg.kg -1 , 0.14% and 340.10 S.cm -1 , for pH, acidity, moisture, hydroxymethylfurfural, ash content and electrical conductivity, respectively. The nutritive values of honey, on average, achieved 0.28% of protein from 69.09% of total sugars, 64.57% of reducing sugars and 4.28% of sucrose. Bioactive compounds showed average values of 34.83 mg GAE/100 g -1 of total phenols and 16.26 mg EQ/100 g -1 of flavonoids, enabling antioxidant activity of 2.68 mol FE (II)/g -1 of FRAP, 1.01 mol ET/g -1 from ABTS and 0.12 mol ET/g -1 of DPPH. This first study evaluated the parameters through cluster analysis and observed nine groups formed, as well as the characteristics between the samples with similar reaction. We concluded that the honey samples have high similarity and confirmed the quality of the honey produced.