title: An RP-HPLC determination of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural in honey The case of strawberry tree honey.
abstract: The use of the RP-HPLC official method of the International Honey Commission (IHC) for the determination of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in strawberry tree honey (Arbutus unedo, a typical Sardinian honey) has brought to light a specific and heavy chromatographic interference that prevents accurate quantification. The interference has been identified as homogentisic acid (HA), i.e. the marker of the botanical origin of the honey. For this reason, an alternative RP-HPLC method is proposed. The bias-free method allows a complete separation of HMF from HA to the baseline level and is faster and more precise than the RP-HPLC official method: the detection and quantification limits are 1.9 and 4.0mgkg(-1), respectively, whereas the repeatability is ca. 2% in the HMF concentration range of 5-140mgkg(-1).
authors.affiliation: Università degli Studi di Sassari, Dipartimento di Chimica, via Vienna 2, 07100 Sassari, Italy.
authors.forename: Nadia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Spano
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Casula
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Panzanelli
authors.forename: Maria I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Pilo
authors.forename: Paola C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Piu
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Scanu
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tapparo
authors.forename: Gavino
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sanna