Characterization of honeys from Hatay Region by their physicochemical properties combined with chemometrics

The study was intended to characterise the honeys from Hatay region in Turkey according to their physicochemical properties. Physicochemical characterisation was carried out on 45 honey samples collected from different regions of Hatay, Turkey. Parameters such as the pH, free acidity, electrical conductivity, ash content, insoluble matter, diastase activity, hydroxymethylfurfural, moisture content, viscosity, glucose, fructose and protein were analysed for each honey sample. The physicochemical values were in the range of approved limits for all parameters except for electrical conductivity, diastase activity and invert sugar. Chemometric methods such as principal component analysis and cluster analysis techniques were applied on the physicochemical data in order to differentiate Hatay honeys. PCA explained 79.54% of the variance with the first four PC variables. The results showed that the use of chemometric methods on physicochemical parameters can be a useful tool to characterise different types of honeys.

► We investigated the levels of some physicochemical parameters in Hatay honeys.
► Physicochemical characterization was carried out on 45 Hatay honeys.
► Principal component analysis and cluster analysis were used to classify honeys.
► Considerable differences were observed between honey samples.