Aroma profile and physico-chemical properties of artisanal honey from Tabasco, Mexico

The aim of this work was to characterise, physico-chemically, sugar composition and aroma profile of ten honey samples collected by small producers during two seasons and produced in different agricultural ecosystems from Tabasco State (Mexico). The mean values obtained for the physico-chemical parameters were: pH 3.63; 19.25% moisture; 78.8°Brix sugar; 0.64% ash; 0.25 mS cm⁻¹ electrical conductivity and 0.58 water activity. Based on colour parameters, Tabasco honeys can be placed in the group of dark honeys. In the analysed samples; fructose was the major sugar (39.45%), followed by glucose (35.74%) while sucrose only represented 2.93%. The volatile profiles of the ten honey samples were obtained by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. All the honeys were characterised by their high contents of benzene and furan-related compounds. As a result, artisanal honeys from Tabasco (Mexico) can be considered to present a good level of quality.