Antioxidant activity and physico-chemical parameters for the differentiation of honey using a potentiometric electronic tongue.
BACKGROUND
This work evaluates the capacity of a potentiometric electronic tongue to differentiate between types of honey (orange blossom, rosemary, thyme, sunflower, winter savory and honeydew honey) according to their antioxidant level. The classical procedures used to evaluate the antioxidant potential of honey are inappropriate for in situ monitoring on reception of batches of raw honey in the packaging industry. They are also destructive, time-consuming and very tedious, requiring highly expert analysts and specialised equipment.


RESULTS
The electronic tongue system made with Ag, Ni, Co, Cu and Au was able to not only differentiate between types of honey but also to predict their total antioxidant capacity. The discrimination ability of the system was proved by means of a fuzzy ARTMAP type ANN, with 100% classification success. A prediction multiple linear regression model showed that the best correlation coefficient was for antioxidant activity (0.9666), then for electrical conductivity (0.8959) and to a lesser extent for aw, moisture and colour.


CONCLUSIONS
The proposed measurement system could be a quick, easy option for the honey packaging sector to provide continuous in-line information about a characteristic as important as the antioxidant level. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.
Institute of Food Engineering for Development (IUIAD), Food Technology Department (DTA), Universitat Politècnica de València, P.O. Box 46022, Valencia, Spain.
Marisol
M
Juan-Borrás
Instituto de Reconocimiento Molecular y Desarrollo Tecnológico (IDM), Centro Mixto Universitat Politècnica de València - Universitat de Valencia, Valencia, Spain.|Departamento de Química, Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, Spain.
Juan
J
Soto
Instituto de Reconocimiento Molecular y Desarrollo Tecnológico (IDM), Centro Mixto Universitat Politècnica de València - Universitat de Valencia, Valencia, Spain.|Departamento de Ingeniería Electrónica, Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, Spain.
Luis
L
Gil-Sánchez
Department of Biotechnology and Food Science, University of Burgos, Plaza Misael Bañuelos s/n, 09001, Burgos, Castilla-León, Spain.
Ana
A
Pascual-Maté
Institute of Food Engineering for Development (IUIAD), Food Technology Department (DTA), Universitat Politècnica de València, P.O. Box 46022, Valencia, Spain.
Isabel
I
Escriche
D000975:Antioxidants / Q000032:analysis*; D016002:Discriminant Analysis; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D062609:Electronic Nose; D035264:Flowers / Q000737:chemistry; D006722:Honey / Q000032:analysis* / Q000145:classification; D011199:Potentiometry / Q000379:methods*
D000975:Antioxidants
antioxidant capacity; honey; physico-chemical analysis; potentiometric tongue