Effect of Ultrasonication Process on the Physical Properties of Three Different Honey Varieties

Abstract

Honey is widely known for its nutraceutical properties and purity. It is a sweet and viscous food in nature which is prepared by Honey bees, and have been recommended for consumption purpose. Honey possesses antioxidant activities, anti-inflammatory properties, antiseptic, antiallergen properties, and thus used as a portion of therapeutic food for skin disease, intestinal problems and anemia. These qualities of honey get attention for use of honey to human consumption. To date, available honey in the market is a pasteurized product that is thermally treated. The thermal treatment (pasteurization) process leads to degradation of honey quality by changing the Color and also influences the physical properties. An increase in temperature during the thermal process leads to the inversion of sugars and also increases hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) which affects the color of honey. The use of non-thermal technologies like ultrasound treatment overcomes the quality-related aspects of honey. In the present study, three varieties of Honey (Jungle, Tulsi, Eucalyptus honey) were selected to see the effect of the Ultrasonication process on the rheological properties. Experimentation results have not demonstrated any significant change in color among varieties, but Eucalyptus honey had a minimum color difference ∆E of 15.87 after ultrasound treatment. The viscosity of the Honey sample (Tulsi) was found to be decreased (97.45%) for temperature variation from 20 0 C to 100 0 C.