Honey Volatiles as a Fingerprint for Botanical Origin—A Review on their Occurrence on Monofloral Honeys

Abstract

Honeys have specific organoleptic characteristics, with nutritional and health benefits, being highly appreciated by consumers, not only in food but also in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Honey composition varies between regions according to the surrounding flora, enabling its characterization by source or type. Monofloral honeys may reach higher market values than multifloral ones. Honey’s aroma is very specific, resulting from the combination of volatile compounds present in low concentrations. The authentication of honey’s complex matrix, according to its botanical and/or geographical origin, represents a challenge nowadays, due to the different sorts of adulteration that may occur, leading to the search for reliable marker compounds for the different monofloral honeys. The existing information on the volatiles of monofloral honeys is scarce and disperse. In this review, twenty monofloral honeys and honeydews, from acacia, buckwheat, chestnut, clover, cotton, dandelion, eucalyptus, fir tree, heather, lavender, lime tree, orange, pine, rape, raspberry, rhododendron, rosemary, strawberry tree, sunflower and thyme, were selected for volatile comparison purposes. Taking into consideration the country of origin, the technique of isolation and analysis, the five main volatiles from each of the honeys are compared. Whereas some compounds were found in several types of monofloral honey, and thus not considered good volatile markers, some monofloral honeys revealed characteristic volatile compounds independently of their provenance.