Analytical study of the physicochemical characteristics from Melipona subnitida D. honey in adequation to Brazilian law

Abstract Honey has different physical and chemical properties because it is produced from the nectar of plants. The present work had the objective of analyzing laboratory tests on honey bee Melipona subnitida D. from Ceará, in comparing them with other honeys from the Northeast Region, making it possible to know better the standards of these honeys, in order to verify their suitability to the Brazilian legislation and contribute to a future more appropriate and specific legislation for the honey of the native bees, since the existing legislation only addresses bee products from Apis mellifera L. Studies were correlated with Fiehe/hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in addition to pH/acidity, Lund, lugol, moisture, ash, soluble solids (°Brix) and coloring. For the moisture test there’s a 100% failure rate to the standards established by current Brazilian legislation, 38.46% in relation to the acid test and 29.03% for HMF. Inadequacies to the legislation occur due to the different floral origins and edaphoclimatic factors. However, the most relevant factor is the difference between the bees’ species Apis mellifera L. and Melipona subnitida D. that originate the honeys, each species conferring specific characteristics to its product.

摘要 蜂蜜因采自不同植物的花蜜，故而具备各异的物理与化学特性。本研究旨在对巴西塞阿拉州产暗蜜蜂（Melipona subnitida D.）蜂蜜开展实验室检测分析，并与巴西东北部地区其他蜂蜜进行对比，以期更全面地掌握这类蜂蜜的各项标准，验证其是否符合巴西现行法规，同时为未来制定适配本土蜂类蜂蜜的专属法规提供参考——因现有法规仅针对西方蜜蜂（Apis mellifera L.）的蜂产品作出规范。本次研究涵盖的检测指标包括pH值/酸度、伦德（Lund）测试、卢戈（Lugol）测试、水分、灰分、可溶性固形物（°Brix）、色泽，以及羟甲基糠醛（hydroxymethylfurfural, HMF）与菲赫（Fiehe）相关检测项，并对各指标间的相关性进行了分析。检测结果显示，水分指标完全不符合巴西现行法规标准，酸度指标不合格率为38.46%，羟甲基糠醛指标不合格率为29.03%。此类蜂蜜不符合法规的原因在于其不同的花源与土壤气候因素。而最关键的影响因素则为产蜜蜂种的差异：西方蜜蜂（Apis mellifera L.）与暗蜜蜂（Melipona subnitida D.）各自赋予其产物独特的特性。