Melissopalinological, chemical and phenolic analysis of “canudo de pito” honey: a product from specific region of Brazil

This study characterized “canudo de pito” honeys by melissopalynological analysis, physicochemical characteristics, sugars, minerals, aliphatic organic acids (AOA), phenolic compounds, and antioxidant capacity. Our results indicated the presence of five plant families, especially from Escalloniaceae ( Escallonia sp.) with a contribution of 31.0–47.7%. The honeys were in accordance with international physicochemical standards, except for electrical conductivity, suggesting a relationship with the high levels of minerals, mainly potassium. Also, this floral honey can be characterized as water-white honey and has low sucrose content. Among the AOA investigated, gluconic acid was the major (up to 1.06 g 100 g −1 ), while benzoic, ferulic, and syringic acids (up to 140, 122, and 319 µg 100 g −1 , respectively) were the major phenolic compounds. This study is the first report on the composition of this exotic Brazilian honey and demonstrated its high quality and potential for national and international marketing.