Chemical markers for the authentication of unifloral Salvia officinalis L. honey

The objective of the present study was to trace phytochemicals that characterize unifloral Common sage (Salvia officinalis L.) honey originating from the Croatian North Adriatic coast. The polyphenolic profiles and total phenolic contents (TPC), the compositions of minerals, sugars and sugar alcohols, and the radical scavenging activities (RSA) of 18 unifloral S. officinalis honey samples were investigated. The quantitative data on the targeted compounds (25 phenolic compounds, 14 carbohydrates and 25 minerals) together with the TPC and RSA data served as a pool of variables for multivariate analysis, which provided useful information for the accurate authentication of unifloral sage honey and its discrimination from other unifloral types of honey. The proposed markers, together with chemometrics, could further contribute, as a powerful tool, to the quality control of Croatian unifloral S. officinalis honey and thus, possibly certify its commercial value.