PHYSICOCHEMICAL PARAMETERS AND SPECTRAL STRUCTURE (FT-IR) OF HONEY FROM IASI COUNTY (NORTH-EASTERN ROMANIA)

The aim of this study was to investigate some physicochemical parameters of honey from Iasi County (North-Eastern Romania). Twenty-four samples of four floral honey types (rapeseed, acacia, linden, polyfloral) were collected in 2016 from beekeepers. All analyses were performed according to both Romanian and EU standards. The results for colour, refractive index, total soluble solids, moisture and density varied between 1.12-69.70 mm Pfund, 1.4886-1.4948, 80.84-83.28 degrees Brix, 16.72-19.16% and 1.423-1.439 g cm(-1), respectively. The pH, free acidity, electrical conductivity and ash ranged between 3.84-4.75, 17.6-48.6 meq kg(-1), 166-794 mu S cm(-1) and 0.05-0.20%, respectively. The total phenolic content ranged from 16.10 mg GAE/100 g to 31.44 mg GAE/100 g while total flavonoid content ranged from 0.97 mg Q/100 g to 2.59 mg Q/100 g. For all honey samples the results revealed strong positive correlation between colour and total phenolic content with total flavonoid content, and between ash and electrical conductivity, respectively. The spectral structure (FT-IR) of studied honey samples showed the presence of various functional groups.