Critical assessment of antioxidant-related parameters of honey

[EN] In this study, several antioxidant-related parameters were researched on 56 Spanish honeys, setting up and optimising some assays. Melissopalynology and colour (L*, a*, b*) were determined. Solid-phase extraction (SPE) was used to obtain honeys’ phenolic extracts. Total phenolics, total flavonoids and trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) were determined in both honeys and extracts. It was verified that total flavonoids determination in neutral media must be carried out on extracts instead of on honeys, because of sugars’ interferences; likewise, extracts’ colours must be corrected in this assay. The endpoint for honeys’ trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) was researched. Significant linear relationships were found between TEAC values of honeys and honeys’ phenolic extracts, as well as between the results of TEAC measured at different times. Therefore, it would be possible to reliably calculate TEAC at 60 min (endpoint), measuring the absorbance at 6 min, thus saving analysis time and reducing costs. The authors thank all the beekeepers who provided a free sample of honey for this study, as well as the PIRTU program of 'Junta de Castilla y Leon' (Spain) and the European Social Fund for the predoctoral study grant to Ana Pascual-Mate. Sancho, MT.; Pascual-Maté, A.; Rodriguez-Morales, EG.; Oses, SM.; Escriche Roberto, MI.; Periche Santamaría, A.; M.A. Fernández-Muiño (2016). Critical assessment of antioxidant-related parameters of honey. International Journal of Food Science and Technology. 51:30-36. doi:10.1111/ijfs.12988 Alvarez-Suarez, J. M., González- Paramás, A. M., Santos-Buelga, C., & Battino, M. (2010). Antioxidant Characterization of Native Monofloral Cuban Honeys. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 58(17), 9817-9824. doi:10.1021/jf1018164 Alvarez-Suarez, J. M., Tulipani, S., Díaz, D., Estevez, Y., Romandini, S., Giampieri, F., … Battino, M. (2010). Antioxidant and antimicrobial capacity of several monofloral Cuban honeys and their correlation with color, polyphenol content and other chemical compounds. Food and Chemical Toxicology, 48(8-9), 2490-2499. doi:10.1016/j.fct.2010.06.021 Baltrušaitytė, V., Venskutonis, P. R., & Čeksterytė, V. (2007). Radical scavenging activity of different floral origin honey and beebread phenolic extracts. Food Chemistry, 101(2), 502-514. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2006.02.007 Bansal, V., Sharma, H. K., & Nanda, V. (2013). Optimisation of spray drying process parameters for low-fat honey-ba