Search

Volatile profiles of lime tree (Tilia sp.), fir honeydew (Abies alba) and sage (Salvia officinalis) honey produced in Croatia have been studied by using headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. Melissopalynological and sensory characterization have been performed in order to check the reliability of botanical origin of the samples. In case of sage honey, sensory characteristics are reported for the first time and are rather uniform including: colour characterized as beige to jade, depending on the consistency; odour characterized as between light and medium intensity, slightly pungent and wooden; taste characterized as low sweetness, expressive acidity and apple caramel, with persistent fruity aftertaste. Characteristic volatile profiles of the analyzed honeys are described. Taking into consideration similarities with lime and fir honey volatile profiles reported in literature, characteristic volatile compounds resulting from qualitative data evaluation are proposed. Sage honey volatile profile has been reported for the first time and it was found quite different compared to the other studied honeys showing the lowest number of peaks among the studied honeys, 34. Several compounds belonging to the sage honey volatile profile have been identified for the first time in honeys. They include tetrahydro-2,2,5,5-tetramethylfuran, 3-hexenyl ester of butanoic acid, 2-methylbenzene, maltol, methyl ester of 3-furanocarboxylic acid and benzeneacetic acid. Based on the obtained results and with the lack of comparative literature data, they are proposed as characteristic volatiles for the volatile pattern of sage honey., Profili hlapljivih tvari meda lipe (Tilia sp.), medljikovca jele (Abies alba) i meda kadulje (Salvia officinalis), proizvedeni u Hrvatskoj, istraživani su najprije metodom mikroekstrakcije na čvrstoj fazi (head space solid phase microextraction, HS-SPME), a zatim s plinskom kromatografijom i masenom spektrometrijom (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, GC-MS). Botaničko porijeklo uzoraka meda potvrđeno je melisopalinološkom i senzorskom analizom. Prvi su put opisana senzorska svojstva meda od kadulje koja su ovisno o konzistenciji bila prilično ujednačena: od svijetlosmeđe do svijetlozelene boje; miris od slabijeg do srednjeg intenziteta, blago rezak i po drvu; postojani blago slatkasti (po pečenim jabukama) i kiselkasti okus. Opisani su karakteristični sastojci hlapljivih tvari analiziranih medova. Uzimajući u obzir sličnosti profila hlapljivih komponenata meda lipe i medljikovca jele s onima opisanim u literaturi, na temelju kvalitativne analize podataka predloženi su karakteristični hlapljivi sastojci. Profil hlapljivih tvari meda kadulje prikazan je po prvi put, a ustanovljeno je da se poprilično razlikuje od ostalih vrsta proučavanih medova, te da sadrži najmanji broj pikova (34). Identificirano je nekoliko dosad neutvrđenih spojeva u medu kadulje: tetrahidro-2,2,5,5-tetrametilfuran, 3-heksenilni ester maslačne kiseline, 2-metilbenzen, maltol, metilni ester 3-furan-karboksilne kiseline i benzenoctena kiselina. S obzirom na dobivene rezultate, te nedostatak usporedivih literaturnih podataka, ti su spojevi predloženi kao karakteristični hlapljivi spojevi meda kadulje.