Response Surface Methodology to Optimize the Isolation of Dominant Volatile Compounds from Monofloral Greek Thyme Honey Using SPME-GC-MS

This study aimed at an experimental design of response surface methodology (RSM) in the optimization of the dominant volatile fraction of Greek thyme honey using solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). For this purpose, a multiple response optimization was employed using desirability functions, which demand a search for optimal conditions for a set of responses simultaneously. A test set of eighty thyme honey samples were analyzed under the optimum conditions for validation of the proposed model. The optimized combination of isolation conditions was the temperature (60 degrees C), equilibration time (15 min), extraction time (30 min), magnetic stirrer speed (700 rpm), sample volume (6 mL), water: honey ratio (1:3 v/w) with total desirability over 0.50. It was found that the magnetic stirrer speed, which has not been evaluated before, had a positive effect, especially in combination with other factors. The above-developed methodology proved to be effective in the optimization of isolation of specific volatile compounds from a difficult matrix, like honey. This study could be a good basis for the development of novel RSM for other monofloral honey samples.