Analytical, Nutritional and Clinical Methods A review of volatile analytical methods for determining the botanical origin of honey Luis F. Cuevas-Glory a,d, * , Jorge A. Pino b , Louis S. Santiago c , E. Sauri-Duch d a Instituto Tecnolo ´ gico de Campeche, Carretera Campeche–Esca ´ rcega km 9, Campeche, Campeche, CP 24500, Mexico b Instituto de Investigaciones para la Industria Alimenticia, Carretera al Guatao km 31/2, La Habana CP 19200, Cuba c Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA d Instituto Tecnolo ´ gico de Me ´rida, Av. Tecnolo ´ gico km 41/2, Me ´rida, Yucata ´ n, CP 97118, Mexico Received 17 December 2005; received in revised form 20 July 2006; accepted 23 July 2006 Abstract Aroma is an important quality factor in foods. The aroma of bee honey depends on volatile fraction composition, which is influenced by nectar composition and floral origin. Honey of unifloral origin usually commands higher commercial value, thus the floral determi- nation and certification of unifloral honey plays an important role in quality control. This review concerns investigations made on the volatile fraction of bee honey by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Recent advances in extraction methods, results achieved, and comparisons of alternative dependable methods for determining floral origin of bee honey are discussed. We emphasize solid phase micro-extraction gas chromatography (SPME/GC) methodology and present some of the results obtained to date, plus the advantages and drawbacks of SPME/GS in comparison with other methods. Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: HS-SPME/GC–MS; Volatile; Honey; Unifloral Contents 1. Introduction ............................................................................... 1033 2. Solvents .................................................................................. 1033 3. Simultaneous distillation-extraction .............................................................. 1035 4. Headspace (HS) ............................................................................ 1036 5. Electronic nose ............................................................................. 1037 6. Solid-phase microextraction .................................................................... 1037 6.1. Fibre selection........................................................................ 1038 6.2. Solid-phase microextraction conditions ...................................................... 1038 6.2.1. Optimization of extraction ......................................................... 1038 6.2.2. Optimization of desorption ........................................................ 1039 6.3. Honey volatile analysis by SPME .......................................................... 1039 6.3.1. Fibre ........................................................................ 1039 6.3.2. Optimization of extraction and desorption process ........................................ 1040 6.3.3. Honey volatile compounds identified by SPME-GC/MS .................................... 1040 0308-8146/$ - see front matter Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2006.07.068 * Corresponding author. Address: Instituto Tecnolo ´gico de Me ´rida, Av. Tecnolo ´gico km 41/2, Me ´rida, Yucata ´n, CP 97118, Mexico. Tel./fax: +52 999 9448479. E-mail address: lfcuevas@yahoo.com (L.F. Cuevas-Glory). www.elsevier.com/locate/foodchem Food Chemistry 103 (2007) 1032–1043 Food Chemistry