Comparative study on physicochemical properties of wild and locally farmed bee honey in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Honey is a natural, sweet, viscous material produced by honey bees either from the nectar of blossoms or from secretions of living plant parts or excretions of plant sucking insects on the living plant parts. According to sources, the major problem of honey-farming in Sri Lanka and other Asian countries is the decrement of honey quality due to excessive feeding of colonies with sugar syrup by honey farmers. This happens mainly due to the lack of nectar yielding plants. The aim of this study was to examine the differences in main physicochemical parameters between wild and locally farmed bee honey in Sri Lanka. In this study, the differences in colour, pH and conductivity were studied by physical tests with direct measurements. In contrast, moisture, ash, sugar, HMF, Nitrogen and acid insoluble ash contents were investigated using chemical tests. According to the results, average values for pH at 28℃, conductivity at 28℃, moisture, ash, sugar, HMF, Nitrogen and acid insoluble ash in locally farmed bee honey were 3.49, 0.36 mS/cm, 22.6%, 0.08%, 73.4%, 8.49 mg/kg, 0% and 0.003% respectively while they were for wild bee honey became 3.71, 0.43 mS/cm, 75.2%, 0.08 mg/kg, 0.1% and 0.001% respectively. The colour of wild honey samples ranged from amber to light amber, while the color of locally farmed bee honey ranged from water white to light amber. According to the statistical interpretation, moisture, conductivity at 28℃, pH at 25℃, Nitrogen content and HMF content had significant differences between wild and locally cultivated samples (P<0.05). However, the sugar content, ash and acid insoluble ash contents showed no significant difference between the two categories (P>0.05). Results obtained from this study can be incorporated in developing innovative novel ideas and products related to bee honey research, especially in pharmaceuticals and food.