Analysis of honey produced in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentine, from 1997 to 2000

M.C. Mouteira1; N.H. Malacalza1 C.E. Lupano2 and B.M. Baldi3

1Ministerio de Agricultura, Ganadería y Alimentación. Lab. de Calidad de Miel,
13 y 532 – 1900- La Plata, Argentina
2Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Criotecnología de Alimentos (CIDCA) –
Fac. de Ciencias Exactas, UNLP – CONICET – 47 y 116 – 1900 – La Plata, Argentina –
Tel/fax: 54 221 425 4853 - e-mail: mcanon@isis.unlp.edu.ar
3Facultad de Bromatología, UNER – Perón 64 – (2820) Gualeguaychú, Entre Ríos, Argentina –
Tel/Fax: 54 3446 426115 – e-mail: BertaB@fb.uner.edu.ar

Abstract

Argentina has a high production of honey, with more than 70,000 ton of honey/year. The province of Buenos Aires represents the 57 % of the total honey production of the country. This province is in the zone called the wet “pampa”, with thistle, clover, eucalyptus and cruciferous flowers. In this work, honey obtained by different producers of the province of Buenos Aires from 1997 to 2000 were analysed. 262 samples were obtained by hot extraction with an electric knife, and moisture, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), pH, ash, colour, and free acidity, were measured. Values corresponding to each year were estimated, and comparison between different years were made. Considering the results obtaining from the four years, values of HMF were between 0.1 and 33.2 mg/Kg, the moisture content between 13.4 and 23.6 %, the pH between 3.1 and 5.5, the ash content between 0.011 and 0.600 %, the colour varied between 1 and 126 mm Pfund, and the free acidity between 9.3 and 36.3 meq/Kg. Results show in some cases big differences between samples, but it must be taken into account that honey was obtained by different producers in different years, and that it proceeded from different regions in the province.

Introduction

Argentina has an important honey production, with more than 70,000 ton of honey/year. About 88,000 ton of honey were exported in 2000, mainly to United States (44,000 ton) and Germany (24,000 ton), which represented the 77 % of the total honey exported. Honey was also exported to Italy (6,300 ton), Great Britain (2,600 ton), Spain (1,900 ton), Japan (1,600 ton), Belgium (1,400 ton), France (1,200 ton), and other countries. In January and February 2001, a little more than 20,000 ton of honey were exported, mainly to United States and Germany. Fractionated honey was exported to Brazil and Norway (Boletín apícola, 2001).

Honey is produced mainly in the wet “pampa”. The province of Buenos Aires represents the 57 % of the total honey production of Argentine, followed by Santa Fe (14 %), Córdoba (11 %), Entre Ríos (9%) and La Pampa (9 %).

Buenos Aires is the biggest province of the country, having seven phytogeographic zones, called Region Paranaense, Region Pampeana, with three districts: Oriental, Occidental and Austral, the Espinal Region, with two districts: Talares and Caldén, and the Monte Region. The Region Paranaense, situated at the NE of the province, has a forest vegetation on the riversides, rich in Erythrina cristagalli (ceibo), Salix spp (willow), Polygonum hydropiperoides (caa-tay), and some introduced species, such as Eucalyptus spp and Lotus spp. The Region Pampeana has a flora introduced by human activity. Thus, the Oriental district has Trifolium spp (clover), Carduus acantoides (thistle), Cynara cardunculus (Castile thistle), Melilotus spp, Medicago spp, and Heliantus annus (sunflower); whereas the Occidental and Austral districts are rich in Eucalyptus spp, Lotus spp, Trifolium spp (clover), Carduus spp (thistle), Cruciferae and Heliantus annus (sunflower). The Caldén district (Espinal Region) has a wild flora with Prosopis spp (carob tree, caldén), Larrea divaricata (jarilla), Condalia microphilla (piquillín), Geoffroea decorticans (chañar), and an introduced flora such as Eucalyptus spp, Diplotaxis tenuifolia (yellow flower), Centaurea spp (abrepuño), Lotus spp, Trifolium spp (clover), and Medicago spp. The Talar district has a wild flora rich in Celtis tala, Acacia caven (espinillo), Scutia buxifolia (coronilla), Jondina rhombifolia (sombra de toro), and Prosopis alba, and an introduced flora of Citrus spp, Trifolium spp (clover), and Medicago spp. The Monte Region has a wild flora rich in Prosopis spp, Larrea divaricata (jarilla), Condalia microphilla (piquillín), Bulnesia spp, and Aspidosperma spp, and an introduced flora similar to that of Caldén district.

In this work, honey of the province of Buenos Aires, harvested between 1997 and 2000, was characterised by determining the, ash, colour, free acidity, pH, moisture and hydroxymethylfurfural contents.

Materials and methods

Materials. 262 samples of honey obtained by different producers of the province of Buenos Aires between 1997 and 2000 were analysed. Honey was obtained by hot extraction with an electric knife.

Methods. Moisture, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), pH, ash, colour, and free acidity, were measured, according to “Normas IRAM”.

Moisture: Moisture was determined through the measure of the refraction index. Values were expressed as moisture percentages by using the Chataway Table (Norma IRAM 15931). Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF): HMF was determined according to White’s method (Norma IRAM 15937-2). Results were expressed as mg HMF/kg honey.

pH: pH was determined by using a pHmeter in 10 % w/v honey solutions (Norma IRAM 14938).

Ash: Ash was measured by igniting honey at 550°C until constant weight (Norma IRAM 15932). Values were expressed as g ash/100 g honey.

Free acidity: Free acidity was determined by titration with 0.1 n NaOH until pH 8.5 (Norma IRAM 15933). Results were expressed as meq/Kg.

Colour: Honey colour was determined by means of the Pfund colorimeter (Norma IRAM 15941-2). Results were expressed as mm Pfund.

Results and discussion

Table 1 shows the colour of honey of the province of Buenos Aires, Argentine, harvested between 1997 and 2000. Colour varies from 1.0 to 126.0 mm Pfund, indicating a large diversity of samples. The average was 27.5 mm Pfund, with little variations between the different years. This value corresponding to white honey (18-34 mm Pfund). The average is similar to values of monofloral honey of Echium plantagineum (31.6 mm Pfund), and lower than values of monofloral honey of Lotus corniculatus (62.5 mm Pfund), Melilotus albus (78.6 mm Pfund), and Eucalyptus sp (62.6 mm Pfund) (Baldi Coronel, 1998).

Table 1. Colour (mm Pfund) of honey of the province of Buenos Aires, harvested between
1997 and 2000.

Values of ash ranging between 0.011 and 0.600 % (Table 2). The maximum value coincides with the maximum accepted by the “Código Alimentario Argentino” and “Normas Mercosur” for floral honeys, and was found in honey harvested in 1999, whereas in honey harvested in the years 1997, 1998 and 2000, the maximum value was 0.290 % or lower. The average value was 0.0977, being between the average values found in the literature for honey from United States (0.17 %) (White Jr. and col., 1962) and Japan (0.06 %) (Echigo, 1977).

Table 2. Ash (%) of honey of the province of Buenos Aires, harvested between 1997 and 2000.

Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) values were between 0.12 and 33.2 mg/Kg (Table 3). The lowest values corresponding to honeys harvested in 1997, ranging from 0.15 to 22.45 mg/Kg, with an average of 4.80 mg/Kg. All values were lower than the maximum of 40 mg/Kg, established by the “Código Alimentario Argentino” and “Normas Mercosur”.

Table 3. Hydroxymethylfurfural (mg HMF/kg honey) of honey of the province of Buenos
Aires, harvested between 1997 and 2000.

With respect to pH, values were between 3.10 and 5.47, reaching the maximum values in honey harvested in 1999 (Table 4). These values are a little lower than those informed by Belitz and Grosch (1988), who reported that the pH of honey varies between 3.4 and 6.1. The average value was 3.71, with a standard deviation of 0.34.

Table 4. pH of honey of the province of Buenos Aires, harvested between 1997 and 2000.

Moisture content of honey varied between 13.4 and 23.6 % (Table 5), in agreement with values ranging from 13.4 to 25.0 reported by Belitz and Grosch (1988). The moisture content of honey is strongly dependent of the weather. However, there were not big differences between the different years, and the standard deviation was about 1 % in all cases.

Table 5. Moisture content (%) of honey of the province of Buenos Aires, harvested between 1997 and 2000.

Table 6 shows the values of free acidity of honey of the province of Buenos Aires, harvested between 1997 and 2000. Free acidity in honey is due mainly to organic acids, such as lactic, butiric, acetic, malic, citric, oxalic, formic, pyroglutamic, maleic and succinic acids (Stinson et al., 1960). Results practically did not differ between years, with an average of 19.1, ranging from 9.3 and 36.3. The average value is lower than the typical values of some monofloral honeys, as honey of Lotus corniculatus (36.6 meq/kg), Melilotus albus (40.6 meq/kg), and Echium plantagineum (27.1 meq/kg) (Baldi Coronel, 1998).

Table 6. Free acidity (meq/kg) of honey of the province of Buenos Aires, harvested between 1997 and 2000.

Results show in some cases big differences between samples, but it must be taken into account that honey was obtained by different producers in different years, and that it proceeded from different regions in the province.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Ministerio de Agricultura, Ganadería y Alimentación, Plan Miel Bonaerense, and by grant of the Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica, BID 1201/OC-AR PICT 09-04423. Author C.E. Lupano is member of the Researcher Career of the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET).

References

  1. Baldi Coronel, B.M. (1998). Estudio bromatológico de mieles argentinas en relación a su origen botánico. Ph D Thesis. Universidad. Nacional de La Plata.

  2. Belitz, H.D. and Grosch, W. (1988). Química de los alimentos. 2nd Ed. Ed. Acribia, S.A. 50080 Zaragoza, Spain.

  3. Boletín apícola (2001). Alimentación. Secretaría de agricultura, ganadería, pesca y alimentación. N°16, 1-12.

  4. Echigo, T. (1977). Food chemical and biochemical studies of honey. Bull. of Faculty of Agric. Tamaguwa Univ. 17,2.

  5. Normas IRAM. Instituto Argentino de Normalización.

  6. Stinson, E.E.; Subers, M.H.; Petty, J. and White, J. (1960). The composition of honey. V.

  7. Separation and identification of the organic acids. Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 89:6-12.

  8. White , J.W. Jr; Riethof, M.L.; Subers, M.H. and Kushneir, I. (1962). Composition of american honeys. Us. Dep. Agr. Tech. Bull 1261, pp 124.

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