Short communication The quantitative analysis of biologically active compounds in Lithuanian honey Kristina Ramanauskiene a , Ada Stelmakiene a,⇑ , Vitalis Briedis a , Liudas Ivanauskas b , Valdas Jakštas c a Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Mickeviciaus Str. 9, Kaunas, Lithuania b Department of Analytical and Toxicological Chemistry, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Mickeviciaus Str. 9, Kaunas, Lithuania c Department of Pharmacognosy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Mickeviciaus Str. 9, Kaunas, Lithuania article info Article history: Received 5 November 2010 Received in revised form 5 October 2011 Accepted 5 December 2011 Available online 13 December 2011 Keywords: Honey Vanillin Phenolic acid Monofloral Polyfloral abstract Different sorts of Lithuanian honey were analysed by quantitative determination of eight free phenolic acids and phenylpropanoid vanillin using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Aqueous ethanol 60% was used as a solvent for preparation of honey samples. Amounts of phenolic acids honey solutions were in the range from 7.176 to 125.624 mg/ml. Free phenolic acids and vanillin had been detected in all samples of honey, but their composition and amount depended on its botanic origin. p- Coumaric and ferulic acids proved to be the main components in the acacia and buckwheat honey. Raspberry and polyfloral forest honey contained the highest amounts of chlorogenic acid. Gallic acid is a principal phenolic acid in eucalyptus honey. The highest amount of vanillin was identified in buckwheat honey. The results of the analysis revealed that free phenolic acids and vanillin were detected in all honey samples analysed, and their range and amounts varied. Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Nowadays, honey is one of the last remaining untreated natural foods, minimally affected by industrial technologies and highly varying consumer characteristics. Honey is one of the oldest and tra- ditional sweetening agents for foods and it has still retained a ‘‘nat- ural’’ image (Aparna & Rajalakshmi, 1999). This natural product is widely appreciated as the only concentrated form of sugar available worldwide and is also used for food preservation (Cherbuliez & Domerego, 2003; Ferreira, Aires, Barreira, & Estevinho, 2009). Honey is an important and unique food product containing bioactive com- pounds derived from bees and plants (Kaškoniene ˙ , Maruška, & Kor- nyšova, 2009). Honey has been reported to contain up to 200 substances (complex mixture of carbohydrates as well as small amounts of other constituents such as minerals, proteins, vitamins, organic acids, flavonoids, phenolic acids, enzymes and other phyto- chemicals), and is considered to be an important part of traditional medicine (White, 1979). Application of honey for wound infections and healing is well documented in medical publications (Carson & Riley, 2003; Van den Berg et al., 2008). Modern medicine rediscovers therapeutic properties of natural honey after its potential has been confirmed by clinical trials in gastric and cardiovascular diseases (Alvarez-Suarez, Tulipani, Romandini, Bertoli, & Battino, 2010). Honey contains phenolic compounds, which are recognised as natural antioxidants thus supporting the application of its use in specific health conditions. These compounds can also be used as the indicators in the studies of the floral and geographical origin of honey and propolis. Phenolic acids are important group of com- pounds with respect to appearance and functional properties. Phe- nolic compounds occurring in honey have been classified into three groups: flavonoids, cinnamic acids and benzoic acids (Amiot, Aubert, Gonnet, & Tacchini, 1989). Some researchers classified phenolic compounds into two groups: phenolic acids including phenolic esters and flavonoids (Amiot et al., 1989; Martos et al., 2000). The composition of honey phenolic compounds depends on the floral source used to collect nectar, seasonal and environ- mental factors, geographic origin, storage conditions; additionally, the processing may affect antioxidant activity of honey which is determined by the composition of phenolic compounds (Anklam, 1998). Differences in physical properties of honey (colour, viscos- ity, hygroscopic properties and pH) and taste are mainly deter- mined by botanical composition of honey (volatile compounds, carbohydrates and phytochemicals) that can vary significantly. Existing data on chemical composition confirm the differences in qualitative and quantitative composition of honey polyphenols. Determination of total polyphenols in Portugal rosemary, viper’s bugloss and heather honeys revealed variations from 132.0 lg/g for honey extract and up to 728.0 lg/g for whole honey. The lower values were determined in the case of honey extracts and that could be explained by losses of some ingredients during extraction process (Ferreira et al., 2009). The total content of phenolic com- pounds in herbal honeys from Romania was in the range 20.0– 450.0 lg/g (Al et al., 2009). Determined quantities of phenolic acids in Australian honeys were relatively low and ranged from 2.13 mg/ 0308-8146/$ - see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2011.12.007 ⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +370 37327254. E-mail address: ada.stelmakiene@yahoo.com (A. Stelmakiene). Food Chemistry 132 (2012) 1544–1548 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Food Chemistry journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/foodchem