NMR-based metabolite profiling and application of STOCSY in honey quality control

Food quality, authenticity and safety constitute an important issue globally. Due to its short supply and high demand, honey has become a prime target for economically motivated adulteration. As for other food commodities, NMR-based methods have been employed in the quality control of honey. However, a challenging step remains the identification of biomarkers, mainly due to the scarcity of databases, as well as the samples’ complexity and variability.

Therefore, the aim of the current study was to apply NMR-based metabolite profiling in the quality control of Greek honey. Moreover, a parallel goal was to evaluate the impact of Statistical Total Correlation Spectroscopy (STOCSY) in the biomarker identification process [1]. STOCSY correlates signals of the same biomarker based on the variance of its concentration levels across the samples on their respective spectra.

Thus, using MVA on NMR data, it was possible to discriminate honey samples of different geographical and botanical origin from Greek Eastern Aegean islands. Furthermore, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and methyl syringate stood out as indicative biomarkers of botanical origin identified via STOCSY.

In conclusion, NMR-based metabolite profiling is an effective method in honey quality and authenticity assessment, while STOCSY is a valuable statistical tool for biomarkers’ identification, with the present being its maiden application in honey. Nevertheless, its implementation in food is still in early stages.

Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
13. Dezember 2021

• References

• 1 Beteinakis S.. et al. Molecules. 2020; 25(15): 3339. doi: 10.3390/molecules25153339