Resumen

VELASQUEZ, Doris  y  GOETSCHEL, Lorena. Determination of the physicochemical quality of bee honey sold in Quito and comparison with artificial honey. Enfoque UTE [online]. 2019, vol.10, n.2, pp.52-62. ISSN 1390-6542.  https://doi.org/10.29019/enfoqueute.v10n2.406.

The quality of 27 bee honey samples commercialized in the southern markets of Quito was evaluated by performing the physicochemical analyses required by the quality standard of the Ecuadorian Service for Standarization NTE INEN 1572-1988. The results were compared with the same type of analyses performed on a sample of artificial honey. The methods used for each analytical determination were: AOAC 962.37 for density, AOAC 962.19 for humidity, AOAC 52.729 for acidity, AOAC 945.79 for insoluble solids, AOAC 920.181 for ash, AOAC 980.23 for hydroxymethylfurfural, AOAC 958.09 for diastase and the Luff-Schoorl method for the determination of sugars. With the exception of one sample that did not comply the maximum value of the content parameter of hydroxymethylfurfural, and three samples that did not comply with the percentage of reducing sugars, all the samples of bee honey met the requirements of the national standard, although they showed results with significant differences in several parameters among different brands. As for the comparison between bee honey and artificial honey, there was a significant difference in the content of insoluble solids in water, reducing sugars, sucrose and hydroxymethylfurfural, and the activity of diastase.

Palabras clave : bee honey; quality parameters; Apis mellifera; physicochemical analysis..

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