Dados do Trabalho

Título

BRACATINGA HONEYDEW HONEY FROM THE BRAZILIAN SOUTHERN PLATEAU: PILOT STUDY OF AUTHENTICATION VIA LC-MS/MS

Introdução

The internationally awarded bracatinga honeydew honey (BHH) holds exclusive geographical indication from the southern Brazilian plateau and is derived from the interaction between Apis mellifera bees and cochineal insects (Stigmacoccus paranaensis Foldi and Tacchardiella sp), which feed on the sap of bracatinga trees (Mimosa scabrella Bentham). This classification elevates BHH as a unique, special, and high-value honey, thus making it susceptible to fraudulent practices.

Material e Métodos

In this study, a comprehensive analysis using mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was conducted focusing on distinguishing BHH. Ten sugars, nine organic acids, nineteen free amino acids, and six proteins (major royal jelly proteins, MRJP) were analyzed in 30 samples; 16 of which were BHH, comprising 8 commercially available (BHHC) and 8 drained directly from honeycombs (BHHD), in addition to 14 samples of commercial multifloral honey (FH), 8 from Brazil (FHB) and 6 from Germany (FHG).

Resultados e Discussão

From the results, a set of chemical markers showing significant quantitative differences (p <0.05) between BHH and FH was selected for principal component analysis (PCA). These markers include glucose, with a lower content in BHH (BHH 22.65%; FH 32.9%), and, due to their higher quantities, lactic acid (BHH 163.9 mg/100g; FH 19.7 mg/100g), succinic acid (BHH 124.1 mg/100g; FH 0 mg/100g), malic acid (BHH 130.2 mg/100g; FH 8.3 mg/100g), the amino acids aspartic acid (BHH 391.3 mg/kg; FH 63.7 mg/kg) and glutamic acid (BHH 194.8 mg/kg; FH 22.1 mg/kg), and the peptide GVPSSLNVISEK (BHH 1428.1 peak area/µg honey injected; FH 157.9 peak area/µg honey injected), from MRJP 5. Two principal components explained 90.3% of the data variance, with the primary variance attributed to component 1 (80.2%).

Conclusão

This suggests a notable disparity between samples on the x-axis, which correlates positively (r2 = 0.92) with glucose content. A distinct differentiation between FH and BHH was achieved based on the identified chemical markers, highlighting the robustness of LC-MS/MS analysis in assessing the authenticity of BHH.