CHARACTERIZATION OF PHYTOHORMONES IN MONOFLORAL HONEY FROM AROEIRA (Astroniumun urundeuva)

Background: Honey is a natural, sugary, and viscous solution elaborated from floral nectar, secretions from living parts of plants, or by sap-sucking insects. The chemical aspects of aroeira honey play a relevant role in the bioeconomy and research of the production chain in northern Minas Gerais. Phytohormones are highlighted in various studies on honey composition, with natural occurrence in honey samples and floral nectar. Aims: The aim was to identify phytohormones in aroeira honey by LC-HRMS, analyzing fragmentograms and spectra through bioinformatics, Sirius software, and manual inspection. Methods: A honey sample was collected from COPEMAPI. Type 1 ultrapure water, 99% methanol, ethyl acetate, 2% sodium chloride (NaCl) solution, sodium sulfate (Na2SO4), formic acid, acetonitrile, sodium formate, and 2-propanol were used for LC-HRMS analysis. Nexera UHPLC system, MaXis ETD mass spectrometer with ESI-Q-TOF, column: Shimpack XR-ODSIII (C18, 150×2.0 mm, 2.2 ?m). The characterization of honey pollen dominance followed standards and methods proposed in the literature, as well as the LC-HRMS analysis. Results: The analyzed honey is monofloral, composed of 94.34% pollen from Astronium urundeuva and 5.66% from Eucalyptus robusta. The results obtained in this study revealed the presence of 3 phytohormones in the honey sample. Abscisic acid (ABA) and its isomers, vomifoliol and roseosides, all situated in positive ionization mode. Discussion: Fragmentation data obtained show the fragmentogram profile of phytohormones, with roseosides being novel for this matrix. Studies show that ABA is also synthesized by mammalian cells and has been associated with human diseases. Vomifoliol and roseoside are derivatives of ABA and have various functionalities, such as increasing insulin proliferation and depigmentation effects on melanocytes. Conclusions: A detailed specification of these compounds presents the richness of the honey. The discovery of roseoside, with recognized antioxidant properties, reinforces the relevance of this honey not only for beekeeping but also for therapeutic applications.