Free amino acid profile in Mimosa scabrella honeydew honey from Brazil and chemometric analysis for geographical discrimination

[Display omitted] •Proline, asparagine, aspartic acid, and glutamic acid were determined in all BHH.•Glutamic and aspartic acids generally showed higher levels in the evaluated samples.•Alanine, phenylalanine and tryptophan were investigated for the first time in BHH.•The total content of free amino acids ranged from 0.08 to 0.20%•PCA discriminated samples from Santa Catarina and Paraná states. In this study, twenty free amino acids (FAA) were investigated in samples of bracatinga (Mimosa scabrella) honeydew honey (BHH) from Santa Catarina (n = 15) and Paraná (n = 13) states (Brazil), followed by chemometric analysis for geographic discrimination. The FAA determination was performed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) after using a commercial EZ:faast™ kits for GC. Eight FAA were determined, being proline, asparagine, aspartic and glutamic acids found in all BHH, with significant differences (p 0.72) in the PCA. Therefore, these results could be useful for the characterization and authentication of BHH based on their FAA composition and geographic origin.