Effect of late harvest and floral origin on honey antibacterial properties and quality parameters

•Honey quality indicators were determined on a late harvest honey.•HMF, diastase, sugar content, pollen type, antimicrobial activity, and H2O2 were determined.•Comparison between different honey types has been performed.•Late harvest may improve some of honey quality parameters.•HMF was the only parameter that was worst in late harvested honey.

Honey is a food of high importance due to its nutritional value. The effect of late harvest and pollen composition on honey quality and antimicrobial activity was studied. Different physicochemical parameters were determined as quality indicators. The HMF content, diastase activity, sugar content, antimicrobial activity, and hydrogen peroxide content were selected in current work as the crucial parameters for evaluation. The results proved that the late harvested honey sample showed a vast number of pollens from different blossom periods. The hydrogen peroxide content and antimicrobial activity of late harvested honey was significantly increased (proved by t-test), whereas the honey seems to be affected significantly from weather conditions since the HMF content was also increased. The diastase activity was proved to be lower than the respective in fresh honey, whereas no difference was observed on the sugar content. Finally, the effect of origin and processing in late harvested honey was discussed.

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