Classification of unifloral honeys using multivariate analysis

The aim of this study was to investigate the physicochemical properties (moisture content, conductivity, 5-HMF, fructose, glucose, L*, a* and b* color parameters) and volatile compounds of Romanian honeys. According to the melissopalynological analysis, the honey samples were of the following botanical origins: acacia, sunflower and tilia. Liquid-liquid extraction followed by GC-MS analysis was used to study the volatile fraction. The volatile compounds of the three types of honeys are given by a total number of forty-five compounds of different chemical groups (aldehydes, alcohols, acids, ketones, organo-sulphur compounds, terpenes, hydrocarbons, esters and furan compounds). The physicochemical properties and volatile compounds data of the fifty samples analyzed were subjected to cluster analysis (CA), principal component analysis (PCA) and stepwise discriminant analysis (SDA). The classification of honeys according to their botanical and geographical origin was made using the physicochemical properties and volatile compounds with percentages higher than 80%.