Original research articlePhenolics and abscisic acid identified in acacia honey comparing different SPE cartridges coupled with HPLC-PDA

•RP-AE SPE cartridges are superior to RP SPE cartridges for enriching phenolics.•Strata-X-A cartridge may be a prime candidate for preconcentration of honey samples.•Cis-trans-abscisic acid and 19 phenolic compounds found in acacia honey samples.•RP-AE SPE better for enriching trace phenolic compounds in a complex food matrix.

The major components of honey are sugar and water, but some phenolic compounds may be responsible for honey quality. We investigated the effects of four reversed-phase (RP) and four reversed-phase and anion-exchange (RP-AE) solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridges as a pre-concentration technique for honey phenolics. Eleven acacia honey samples were collected from different apiaries of China and their levels of phenolics and abscisic acid were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Our results reveal that RP-AE SPE cartridges are superior to RP SPE cartridges for the pre-concentration of honey phenolics. The improved pre-concentration effect of RP-AE SPE cartridges may be a novel finding of our research. The Strata-X-A cartridge may be used in the concentration of low content phenolics of complex food matrices. We identified cis-trans-abscisic acid and 19 phenolics occurring in acacia honey samples. Seven phenolic compounds and abscisic acid were identified in almost all samples, representing 50% of total phenolics. Abscisic acid possesses the highest average content of 146.0 μg/100 g, and pinobanksin also presented the highest average of 53.1 μg/100 g among all flavonoids. Moreover, we infer that abscisic acid could be the solid ingredient for adulteration identification and quality control of acacia honey.