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Carbohydrate determination in honey samples by ion chromatography–mass spectrometry (HPAEC-MS)

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Abstract

Honey is a complex mixture of carbohydrates, in which the monosaccharides glucose and fructose are the most abundant compounds. Currently, more than 20 oligosaccharides have been identified in different varieties of honey normally at quite low concentration. A method was developed and validated using high-performance anion-exchange chromatography coupled to a mass spectrometry detector to investigate the composition of carbohydrates in honey samples. The method was tested for linearity range, trueness, instrumental and method detection and quantification limits, repeatability, and reproducibility. It was applied to determine seven monosaccharides, eight disaccharides, four trisaccharides, and one tetrasaccharide in various honey samples. The present work describes the composition of sugars in unifloral, multifloral, and some honeydew honey, which were produced and collected by beekeepers in the Trentino Alto-Adige region. Statistical techniques have been used to establish a relationship based on levels of carbohydrates among different Italian honey. The results emphasize that mono- and oligosaccharide profiles can be useful to discriminate different honeys according to their floral characteristics and inter-annual variability.

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Acknowledgments

This work was co-founded by Edmund Mach Foundation under the Research Centre International Program for PhD projects. The authors are grateful to Franco Abballe and Diego Visentin (Thermo Fischer Scientific) for technical instrumental support and their help and cooperation during the activities. We would like to thank the apiarist associations located in the Trentino Alto-Adige region (Italy) and the local beekeeper farms for providing the honey samples. The authors thank Elga LabWater, High Wycombe UK for supplying the pure water systems used in this study. Grateful acknowledgment is also extended to Dr. Massimiliano Vardè (CNR-ISP) for his useful support on organizing the references over the entire manuscript. The authors are grateful to Dr. Nicole Emilia Byrne for her intense English revision of the entire manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics (DAIS), University of Venice Ca’ Foscari, Via Torino 155, 30172, Venice, Mestre, Italy

    Raffaello Tedesco, Elena Barbaro, Roberta Zangrando, Andrea Gambaro & Gabriele Capodaglio

  2. Fondazione Edmund Mach (FEM), via E. Mach,1, 38010, Trento, San Michele all’Adige, Italy

    Raffaello Tedesco, Annapaola Rizzoli, Valeria Malagnini & Paolo Fontana

  3. Institute of Polar Sciences, National Research Council of Italy, (ISP-CNR), Via Torino 155, 30172, Venice, Mestre, Italy

    Elena Barbaro, Roberta Zangrando, Andrea Gambaro & Gabriele Capodaglio

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  1. Raffaello Tedesco
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  2. Elena Barbaro
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Correspondence to Elena Barbaro.

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Tedesco, R., Barbaro, E., Zangrando, R. et al. Carbohydrate determination in honey samples by ion chromatography–mass spectrometry (HPAEC-MS). Anal Bioanal Chem 412, 5217–5227 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-020-02732-3

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