<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p> Maltese honey has been valued for its medicinal properties since ancient times, so much so that the word Malta is derived from the ancient Greek word, Melite, which means honey. In this study, Maltese honey samples (n = 30) from three harvest seasons and different floral sources were analysed to determine their antioxidant/antiradical properties. Colorimetric assays were used to determine the polyphenol content, flavonoid content, and colour intensity, and these values were analysed to determine whether they correlated with radical scavenging activity as determined by bioassays. The honey samples varied in their DPPH activity (range, 3.326 - 11.865 mg AEAC/100 g honey), reducing power (EC <sub>50</sub> range: 5.632 - 14.453 mg/ml), total phenolic content (range, 8.114 - 109.765 mg TAE/100 g honey), total flavonoids (range, 0.655 - 212.865 mg RE/100 g honey), and colour intensity (range, 0.000 - 99.581 mm Pfund). The data were subjected to factor analysis using principal components. The antioxidant properties correlated significantly with total polyphenol content and colour (p&lt;0.0001). Principal components analysis revealed three clusters of honey corresponding to the three harvest seasons.</p></abstract>

Maltese honey has been valued for its medicinal properties since ancient times, so much so that the word Malta is derived from the ancient Greek word, Melite, which means honey. In this study, Maltese honey samples (n = 30) from three harvest seasons and different floral sources were analysed to determine their antioxidant/antiradical properties. Colorimetric assays were used to determine the polyphenol content, flavonoid content, and colour intensity, and these values were analysed to determine whether they correlated with radical scavenging activity as determined by bioassays. The honey samples varied in their DPPH activity (range, 3.326 - 11.865 mg AEAC/100 g honey), reducing power (EC 50 range: 5.632 - 14.453 mg/ml), total phenolic content (range, 8.114 - 109.765 mg TAE/100 g honey), total flavonoids (range, 0.655 - 212.865 mg RE/100 g honey), and colour intensity (range, 0.000 - 99.581 mm Pfund). The data were subjected to factor analysis using principal components. The antioxidant properties correlated significantly with total polyphenol content and colour (p<0.0001). Principal components analysis revealed three clusters of honey corresponding to the three harvest seasons.

The Antioxidant Activity of Maltese Honey

Agrosup Dijon – 26 Bd Dr Petitjean, BP 87999 , 21079 DIJON CEDEX – France

Statistics and Operations Research, Faculty of Science, University of Malta, Msida, MSD2080 Malta

Division of Rural Sciences and Food Systems, Institute of Earth Systems, University of Malta, Msida, MSD2080 Malta

Journal of Apicultural Science

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

{"article-title":"The Antioxidant Activity of Maltese Honey"}

Maltese honey has been valued for its medicinal properties since ancient times, so much so that the word Malta is derived from the ancient Greek word, Melite,...

The Antioxidant Activity of Maltese Honey

Publicado en línea: 27 may 2014

Páginas: 51 - 60

Recibido: 18 ene 2013

Aceptado: 05 feb 2014

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jas-2014-0004

Palabras clave
antioxidant activity, flavonoids, Maltese honey, PCA, phenols

© by Everaldo Attard

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

The Antioxidant Activity of Maltese Honey

Publicado en línea: 27 may 2014

Páginas: 51 - 60

Recibido: 18 ene 2013

Aceptado: 05 feb 2014

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jas-2014-0004

Palabras claveantioxidant activity, flavonoids, Maltese honey, PCA, phenols

© by Everaldo Attard

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Palabras clave
antioxidant activity, flavonoids, Maltese honey, PCA, phenols