A rapid HPTLC fingerprinting technique for identifying the various geo-floral origins of honeys

Abstract

Honey has several nutritional and therapeutic uses due to the presence of different bioactive compounds.These substances are derived from floral nectar. Therefore, it becomes essential to identify the distinct chemical profiles of honey samples. The aim of this research was to provide an accurate, straightforward, and sensitive HPTLC approach for different types of honey verification. Eight mono floral honeys (mustard, eucalyptus, litchi, orange, tea, Indian plum, black plum and pineapple) were collected from different origin of West Bengal (eastern India) and examined. Standard procedures were followed to check the quality of each honey.The flora was identified by microscopically examining the pollen found in honeys. High-performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) was used to analyze lipophilic fractions of each honey. Chromatographic results identified distinct patterns of bands with specific Rf values for each type of mono floral honey. HPTLC is a simple and effective method for routine analysis and verification. It can serve as authentication for different types of honey.