EAP - Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences

PUBLISHED
SINCE 1952

proceedings
of the estonian academy of sciences

ISSN 1736-7530 (Electronic)
ISSN 1736-6046 (Print)

Open Access Journal

CiteScore: 2.4

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Characterization of Estonian honeys by botanical origin; pp. 183–192

PDF | doi: 10.3176/proc.2014.2.08

Authors

Evelin Kivima, Andrus Seiman, Raili Pall, Evelyn Sarapuu, Kaie Martverk, Katrin Laos

Abstract

This study characterizes Estonian honeys based on their physico-chemical properties and chemical composition. Melissopalynological analysis was carried out to determine the botanical origin of each honey. According to pollen analysis, 39% of the honeys analysed appeared to be unifloral rape (Brassica napus), raspberry (Rubus idaeus), or heather (Calluna vulgaris) honeys.
Fluorescence spectroscopy was used to estimate both the physico-chemical parameters and floral content of each honey sample by comparing these estimates with experimental data measured using standard techniques. The r² correlation between estimated values and experimental data was above 0.7 for several parameters, including free acidity with an r² of 0.919.

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