Characterisation of Moroccan unifloral honeys using multivariate analysis

Physicochemical properties of 39 samples of Moroccan honeys were analysed; 30 parameters were measured, including water content, pH, acidity (free and lactonic), HMF, diastase activity, electrical conductivity, mineral and sugar content, and colour. In addition, the characterisation of the five unifloral honeys (Eucalyptus sp., Citrus sp., Lythrum sp., Umbelliferae and honeydew) by cluster (CA), principal component analysis (PCA), stepwise discriminant analysis (SDA) and multiLayer perceptrons (MLP) were carried out. The PCA showed that the cumulative variance was approximately 44% for the first 2 PCs. About 97% of the samples were correctly classified by using the SDA and MLP, the best results being obtained for the eucalyptus, citrus, Umbelliferae and honeydew honeys (100% correct).