title: Objective Definition of Monofloral and Polyfloral Honeys Based on NMR Metabolomic Profiling.
abstract: In this paper, a remarkably precise, simple, and objective definition of monofloral and polyfloral honey based on NMR metabolomics is proposed. The spectra of organic extracts of 983 samples of 16 botanical origins were used to derive one-versus-all OPLS-DA classification models. The predictive components of the statistical models reveal not only the principal but also the secondary floral origins present in a sample of honey, a novel feature with respect to the methods present in the literature that are able to confirm the authenticity of monofloral honeys but not to characterize a mixture of honey types. This result descends from the peculiar features of the chloroform spectra that show diagnostic resonances for almost each botanical origin, making these NMR spectra suitable fingerprints. The reliability of the method was tested with an additional 120 samples, and the class assignments were compared with those obtained by traditional analysis. The two approaches are in excellent agreement in identifying the floral species present in honeys and in the botanical classification. Therefore, this NMR method may prove to be a valid solution to the huge limitations of traditional classification, which is very demanding and complex.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Sciences, Università di Padova , via Marzolo 1, 35131 Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schievano
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Sciences, Università di Padova , via Marzolo 1, 35131 Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Finotello
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Sciences, Università di Padova , via Marzolo 1, 35131 Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Jalal
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Uddin
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Sciences, Università di Padova , via Marzolo 1, 35131 Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mammi
authors.affiliation: Piana Ricerca e Consulenza s.r.l. a socio unico , Via dei Mille 39, 40024 Castel San Pietro Terme, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Piana
mesh_terms: D035264:Flowers / Q000737:chemistry*; D006722:Honey / Q000032:analysis*; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods*; D055432:Metabolomics
keywords: NMR; botanical origin; honey markers; metabolomics; monofloral honey; pollen analysis; polyfloral honey