Unit:
Κατεύθυνση Αναλυτική ΧημείαLibrary of the School of Science
Author:
Katsianou Panagiota
Supervisors info:
Νικόλαος Θωμαΐδης, Καθηγητής, τμήμα χημείας, ΕΚΠΑ
Ιωάννης Ντότσικας, Επίκουρος καθηγητής, τμήμα φαρμακευτικής, ΕΚΠΑ
Ευάγγελος Γκίκας, Επίκουρος καθηγητής, τμήμα φαρμακευτικής, ΕΚΠΑ
Original Title:
Target screening of phenolic compounds in honey samples in order to differentiate them according to their botanical and geographical origin using ultra high performance liquid chromatography combined with high resolution mass spectrometry «UHPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS»
Translated title:
Target screening of phenolic compounds in honey samples in order to differentiate them according to their botanical and geographical origin using ultra high performance liquid chromatography combined with high resolution mass spectrometry «UHPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS»
Summary:
Due to its economic importance, honey is subjected to various fraudulent practices like mislabeling (blossom sold as honeydew) or addition of illegal substances. Hence the evaluation and verification of authenticity is a task of great importance for the producers, consumers and regulatory bodies. Tremendous improvements in analytical methodologies have been carried out in order to provide an adequate answer to the detection of adulterants and to verify the botanical and geographical origin of honey.
In this thesis, the assessment of honey authenticity was based on the analysis of phenolic profile due to the fact that the concentration and the presence of these compounds are strictly connected to geographical and botanical origin. The determination of phenolic compounds was performed using an already in-house developed and validated UHPLC-ESI-QTOF MS method in order to find unique marker for discrimination of honey samples. A chemometric evaluation by statistical tools could be useful since honey is a complex mixture and the data obtained by fingerprinting techniques cannot easily be handled and interpreted.
The method was applied to 135 unifloral and polyfloral Greek honey samples derived from 5 different botanical origins. A database consisting of 25 phenolic compounds, encountered in honey, was utilized in order to identify and quantify each of these compounds in all samples. The target screening was performed using the appropriate internal standards for each analyte and it was based on certain identification criteria while the quantification was performed using the standard addition method. It has to be noticed that potential authenticity markers have been spotted via target screening approach. High average concentration of chrysin and pinocembrin has been measured in blossom honeys contrary to other unifloral honeys. Also another analytes such as pinobanksin, and galangin seems to differentiate blossom from thyme honey samples. In conclusion, the results obtained in the present work illustrate the importance of investigating polyphenols content in honey authenticity studies.
Main subject category:
Science
Keywords:
honey authenticity, honey adulteration, phenolic compounds, botanical origin, geographical origin, UHPLC-QToF-MS, authenticity markers, target screening
Number of references:
100
