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Consumers are exhibiting increasing interest in honeydew honey, principally due to its functional properties. Some plants can be sources of honeydew honey, but in north-western Spain, this honey type only comes from Quercus pyrenaica. In the present study, the melissopalynological and physicochemical characteristics and the antioxidant properties of 32 honeydew honey samples are described. Q. pyrenaica honeydew honey was defined by its colour, high pH, phenols and flavonoids. Multivariate statistical techniques were used to analyse the influence of the production year on the honey's physicochemical parameters and polyphenol content. Differences among the honey samples were found, showing that weather affected the physicochemical composition of the honey samples. Optimal conditions for oak growth favoured the production of honeydew honey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Multivariate analysis was applied on physicochemical parameters (moisture, water activity, electric conductivity, colour, hydroxymethyl furfural, acidity, pH, proline, diastase and invertase), sugar composition (fructose, glucose, sucrose, maltose, isomaltose, trehalose, turanose and melezitose) and palinological parameters determined in blossom and suspected honeydew honeys in order to differentiate them. The majority of the physicochemical, sugar composition and palinological parameters evaluated presented significant differences in the mean values between the suspected honeydew and blossom honeys, with the exception of moisture, water activity, diastase, fructose and maltose. Blossom honey samples tend to differentiate from the suspected honeydew honeys after applying factor analysis on the physicochemical parameters and sugar composition. Stepwise linear discriminant analysis allows the correct classification of all blossom honeys, and only one honeydew honey was erroneously included as blossom honey. So, the use of multivariate analysis on physicochemical parameters and sugar composition can be a useful tool to differentiate these types of honeys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]