A team of researchers at the Auckland University of Technology has profiled the chemical composition of New Zealand honeydew honey and compared its antioxidant activity with that of the famous Manuka honey.
The western honeybee (Apis mellifera). Image credit: David Hablützel.
Honeydew honey, also known as forest honey or myelate, is one of the most exotic kinds of honey in the world.
It is produced by western honeybees (Apis mellifera) from honeydew, a sugar-rich sticky liquid secreted by aphids or other plant-sap-sucking insects.
Honeydew honey is very dark brown, with a rich fragrance of stewed fruit or fig jam, and is not as sweet as nectar honey.
It usually has higher values of pH, electrical conductivity, higher content of disaccharides, trisaccharides, and lower level of monosaccharides.
It is popular in some countries (Germany, Greece, New Zealand, Bulgaria, Serbia, California in the United States), but in other regions, beekeepers have difficulty selling this honey, due to its stronger flavor.
“Demand for honeydew honey is growing, both from consumers and the food industry, due to its potential antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties,” said Dr. Keegan Jonathan Chessum and his colleagues in the Department of Food Science and Microbiology at the Auckland University of Technology.
“However, information on the chemical profile of honeydew honey remains scant, particularly on New Zealand honeydew honey.”
Chessum et al. compared the antioxidant activity of New Zealand honeydew honey to Manuka honey. Image credit: Chessum et al., doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2022.111436.
In the study, the researchers conducted a comprehensive chemical analysis of New Zealand honeydew honey produced from honeybees, which feed on nectar exuded by an insect species called the sooty beech scale (Ultracoelostoma assimile).
They determined its composition, antioxidant activity as well as mineral, sugar, phenolic and amino acid profiles.
“The antioxidant activity of New Zealand honeydew honey is comparable to several studies on Manuka honey, which is widely considered as the ‘gold standard’ for its antioxidant activity,” they said.
“This demonstrated that New Zealand honeydew honey indeed had excellent antioxidant properties.”
The study was published in the journal Food Research International.
_____
Keegan Jonathan Chessum et al. A comprehensive chemical analysis of New Zealand honeydew honey. Food Research International, published online May 28, 2022; doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2022.111436
Source link: https://www.sci.news/biology/new-zealand-honeydew-honey-10886.html
