Comparison between honey produced by bees, aphids and wasps in Kurdistan Region - Iraq based on biochemical parameters

Abstract

Honey is a sweet substance that has been valued by humans for its taste and health bene fi ts. It is produced by honey bees fromthe sugarysecretions ofplants.However, otherinsects, suchas aphidsandwasps, alsoproducehoney-like substances. This study aimed to compare the physical and biochemical properties of honey produced by honey bees, aphids, and wasps in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. To achieve this, samples of honey, bitter honey, honeydew, and wasp honey were collected and examined. The samples were analyzed for total sugar, sucrose, water, Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), acidity, total acidity, diastase activity, total phenolic content (TPC), antioxidant activity (DPPH), and elements present. The tests applied were based on the international standard methods for honey analysis, Folin e Ciocalteu test for total phenols, DPPH radical scavengingtest,andelementalanalysisbyICP-OES.Thestudyfoundthatthephysicalandbiochemicalpropertiesofhoney producedbyaphidsandwaspsweresimilartothoseofhoneyproducedbybees,withdifferencesintotalsugar,sucrose, water, HMF, acidity, total acidity, and diastase activity. Signi fi cant differences were found in TPC and antioxidant activities for most of the samples. However, the amounts of different elements present in the samples varied, with wasp honey containing high concentrations of Al, Mg, Fe, Mn, V, Ti, and Sr and being the only sample to contain vanadium. Overall, the resultsof this study suggest that honeysamplesproduced byaphidsand waspswere close to the speci fi cations ofbeehoney and within accepted standards. However, when compared to bee honey, a signi fi cant difference was found in the total TPC and DPPH values. Honey is regarded as a necessary economic component and a healthy food, and this study contributes to our understanding of the properties of different types of honey