Some Quality and Compositional Characteristics of Flower and Pine Honeys from Different Geographical Regions

The physicochemical properties and composition of honey may vary depending on its botanical and geographical origin, bee species, ratio of nectar, vegetation type, flowering period, foraging insect species, beekeepers' production techniques and timing of honey collection, and packaging and storage conditions of honey. In this study, some physicochemical properties of flower (F1, F2, F3 and F4) and pine (P1, P2, P3 and P4) honeys from different geographical origin (Antalya in Türkiye, Hessen in Germany and Lisbon in Portugal) were determined. The average °Brix, pH, and electrical conductivity (EC) values were 82.73, 4.28, and 0.44 mS/cm, respectively, with the ranges of 81.60-84.43 for °Brix, 3.79-4.85 for pH, and 0.15-0.68 mS/cm for EC. The color characteristics of honey were influenced by its botanical source and composition with the averages for CIE L*, a*, and b* were 24.29, 5.74, and 4.26, respectively. The flower and pine honey samples showed distinct UV-vis spectral profiles, especially in the 200-350 nm range, with differences attributed to their chemical composition, including sugar and phenolic contents. On the other hand, FTIR spectroscopy revealed similar spectral patterns for pine and flower honeys indicating shared functional groups and chemical structures in both honey types. Pine honey samples had significantly higher antioxidant activity values due to their phenolic contents (p