Sugars and °Brix in honey from Apis mellifera, Melipona beecheii, and commercial honey from a local market in Mexico

Main Article Content

Teresa Castillo-Martínez
Cecilia García-Osorio
José Guadalupe García-Muñiz
Jorge Aguilar-Ávila
Rodolfo Ramírez-Valverde

Abstract

Fructose and glucose are the main sugars in honey, and their concentration is expected to correspond to the specifications of official standards. The study compared the composition of sugars and ºBrix in honey from Apis mellifera and Melipona beecheii bees, and a product marketed as bee honey in a local market. The sugar content was determined by highperformance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with a refractive index detector, and °Brix was determined using a refractometer. None of the honey analyzed had detectable levels of sucrose. The average concentration of fructose and glucose in honey was 36.4 and 28.9 g 100 g-1 for Apis mellifera, and 38.5 and 28.2 g 100 g-1 for honey from Melipona beecheii. For honey from the local market, the respective concentrations of these sugars were 7.5 and 17.0 g 100 g-1. The fructose:glucose ratio (F:G) was higher than one in Apis mellifera and Melipona beecheii honey, and 0.4 for honey from the local market. The three types of honey compared had similar values for °Brix. It is concluded that the honey under study by Apis mellifera and Melipona beecheii have similar qualities within international standards. In contrast, the product marketed as bee honey in the local market did not meet official regulations specifications and could not be considered authentic.

Keywords:
Honey quality Honey adulteration Africanized bees Melipona bees

Article Details

Author Biographies

Teresa Castillo-Martínez, Universidad Autónoma Chapingo

Estudiante del programa de Doctorado en Innovación Ganadera

Posgrado en Producción Animal

Cecilia García-Osorio, Colegio de Postgraduados

Profesor-Investigador

Departamento de Fruticultura

José Guadalupe García-Muñiz, Universidad Autónoma Chapingo

Profesor-Investigador

Posgrado en Producción Animal

 

Jorge Aguilar-Ávila, Universidad Autónoma Chapingo

Profesor-Investigador

Centro de Investigaciones Económicas, Sociales y Tecnológicas de la Agroindustria y la Agricultura Mundial (CIESTAAM)

Rodolfo Ramírez-Valverde, Universidad Autónoma Chapingo

Profesor-Investigador

Posgrado en producción Animal