Comprehensive investigation of psicose in Chinese honeys and the assessment of its potential as a new marker for honey adulteration detection

•Psicose was investigated comprehensively in Chinese honeys and syrups.•Psicose was not detected in any honey samples except for some Jujube honeys.•69.0 % of syrup samples were detected.•Psicose can be a new marker for honey adulteration detection except for Jujube honey. The content of psicose in 454 honey samples and 58 syrup samples collected from China was determined by a high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to evaporative light scattering detection (HPLC-ELSD) method. Psicose was not detected in any honey samples except for some Jujube honeys, and psicose was detected in 23 of 53 of Jujube honeys, with an average content of 0.21 g/100 g. The detection rate of psicose in 58 syrup samples was 69.0 %, and the average content was 0.31 g/100 g. This is a first-time and comprehensive study on the content of psicose in Chinese honeys and syrups of different types. The results suggest that psicose can be used as a new marker for honey adulteration detection, but the target is not suitable for Jujube honey.