Rapid in situ identification of honey authenticity based on RP-Nano-ESI-MS using online desalting

High-content sugar in honey frequently results in severe matrix effects and requires complex pretreatment prior to analysis, posing significant challenges for the rapid analysis of honey. In this study, the reversal polarity nano-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (RP-Nano-ESI-MS) analysis was developed for the direct evaluation of honey samples. The results indicated that RP-Nano-ESI-MS significantly mitigated the matrix effects induced by high-content sugar through the implementation of online desalting. Furthermore, RP-Nano-ESI-MS has been proven capable of not only differentiating acacia honey adulterated with 10% rape honey, but also effectively distinguishing six types of honey and exhibiting remarkable proficiency in detecting honey adulteration and botanical traceability. Additionally, RP-Nano-ESI-MS exhibited strong quantitative abilities, effectively characterizing variations in amino acid composition among six types of honey with high stability and reproducibility. Our studies underscore the significant potential of RP-Nano-ESI-MS for its rapid in situ analysis of sugar-rich foods like honey, especially in their authenticity verification. [Display omitted] •A novel RP-Nano-ESI-MS method is developed for in situ analysis of honey•RP-Nano-ESI-MS mitigate the severe matrix effects by online desalting•RP-Nano-ESI-MS exhibit great ability in the authenticity of honey•RP-Nano-ESI-MS is suitable for the quantitative analysis of amino acids in honey