Physical and chemical screening of honey samples available in the Saudi market: An important aspect in the authentication process and quality assessment

Publication date: Available online 25 April 2018Source: Saudi Pharmaceutical JournalAuthor(s): Haya I. Aljohar, Hadir M. Maher, Jawza Albaqami, Maha Al-Mehaizie, Rawan Orfali, Razan Orfali, Sarah AlrubiaAbstractHoney is becoming accepted as a reputable and effective therapeutic agent by practitioners of conventional medicine and by the general public. It has many biological activities and has been effectively used in the treatment of many diseases, e.g. gastrointestinal diseases, skin diseases, cancer, heart diseases, and neurological degeneration. Honey is an excellent source of energy containing mainly carbohydrates and water, as well as, small amounts of organic acids, vitamins, minerals, flavonoids, and enzymes. As a natural product with a relatively high price, honey has been for a long time a target for adulteration. The authenticity of honey is of great importance from commercial and health aspects. The study of the physical and chemical properties of honey has been increasingly applied as a certification process for the purpose of qualification of honey samples. The current work focusses on studying the authenticity of various types of honey sold in Riyadh market (24 samples). For this purpose, physical properties (pH, hydroxylmethylfurfural HMF, and pollen test) were measured. Besides, sugar composition was evaluated using Fehling test and an HPLC method. Elemental analysis was carried out using inductively coupled plasma (ICP). In addition, the presence of drug addi...
Source: Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: research