Abstract
Many of the components, which render honey its specific aroma, flavor, and biological activity, are unstable over time and thermolabile. This study was aimed to compare the chemical composition, effect of heating as well as the time of heat exposure, and storage period on the quality of honey samples from
Apis mellifera
(
A.m.
) and
Apis florea
(
A.f.
). Methods of the Association of the Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) were used in this study. The mean values for both
A.m.
and
A.f
. honeys were, respectively: moisture (18.5, 13.7%); glucose (35.2, 36.3%); fructose (33.7, 33.8%); sucrose (7.3, 2.9%); invert sugar (68.9, 70.4%); ash (0.26, 1.1%); acidity (51.8, 98.4 meq/kg); pH (3.6, 4.4) and Hydroxy methyl furfural (HMF) (3.78, 3.17 mg/100 g). Honey from
A. florea
contained less moisture, have higher acidity and ash contents than
A. mellifera
honey. Significant alterations (
P
< 0.05) in glucose, fructose, sucrose, and acidity were noticed after six months. Honeys exposed to heating for 15 and 30 min at 50 and 80 °C have shown increased thermo-generated HMF after 15, 30, and 45 days. HMF reached 16.30 ± 1.1 in
A. mellifera
and 7.41 ± 1.4 mg/100 g in
A. florea
honeys that exposed for 30 min at 80 °C. Honey from
A. florea
showed more heat tolerance to thermo-generation of HMF than honey from
A. mellifera
.