Changes in the free amino acid contents of honeys during storage at ambient temperature.
This study was carried out to establish the changes in the free amino acid contents of floral honeys, honeydew honeys, and blend honeys during storage at room temperature and to test the capacity of the amino acids to distinguish the origin of the honeys after storage. For this purpose, 54 artisanal honeys (39 floral, 5 honeydew, and 10 blend) were studied. Samples were taken from recently collected honeys and at 3, 6, 9, 12, 16, 20, and 24 months after harvesting. The contents of most of the free amino acids were found to decrease with storage time, with the greatest reduction observed in the first 9 months. The contents of the amino acids aspartic acid, beta-alanine, and proline increased in the first few months after storage, reaching maximum values at 6 months, suggesting the possible existence of enzymatic activities. The application of stepwise discriminant analysis to the free amino acid content data demonstrated that the contents of the amino acids valine, beta-alanine, gamma-aminobutyric acid, serine, isoleucine, alpha-alanine, ornithine, and glutamine correctly assigned 87% of honeys to their group of origin: floral, honeydew, or blend.
Iglesias
M Teresa
MT
Instituto Madrileño de Investigación y Desarrollo Rural, Agrario y Alimentario, IMIDRA, Finca El Encín, Apartado 127, 28800 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.
Martín-Alvarez
Pedro J
PJ
Polo
M Carmen
MC
de Lorenzo
Cristina
C
Gonzalez
Montserrat
M
Pueyo
Encarnación
E
D000596:Amino Acids / Q000737:chemistry*; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D005504:Food Analysis; D005519:Food Preservation; D006722:Honey / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D013696:Temperature
D000596:Amino Acids