Application of a newly developed and validated high-performance thin-layer chromatographic method to control honey adulteration

• Published in: Journal of Chromatography A 2013-01, Vol.1272 (11), p.132-135
• Main Authors: Puscas, Anitta, Hosu, Anamaria, Cimpoiu, Claudia
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: adulterated products; Adulteration; anti-inflammatory activity; antioxidant activity; Biological and medical sciences; Confectionery products and chocolate industries, honey; dipping; Food industries; Fructose; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Glucose; honey; HPTLC validated method; image analysis; ingredients; quality control; quantitative analysis; Romanian honeys; silica gel; Sucrose; thin layer chromatography; traditional medicine
• ISSN: 0021-9673
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2012.11.064

► Control of honeys adulteration. ► 15 commercial Romanian honeys from 3 types of flowers made by 5 producers were investigated. ► Newly developed and validated HPTLC method. ► Fructose/glucose ratio and sucrose content could be determined. Honey is a saturated solution of sugars, used for a long time as a natural source of sugars and is an important ingredient in traditional medicine due to its antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Therefore, methods for quality control of honey and detection of its adulteration are very important. For this reason, the aim of this study is to develop and validate a new, simple and economical analytical method for detecting the adulteration of some Romanian honeys based on high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) combined with image analysis. The proposed method involved the chromatographic separations of glucose, fructose and sucrose on silica gel HPTLC plates, developed twice with ethyl acetate–pyridine–water–acetic acid, 6:3:1:0.5 (v/v/v/v), followed by dipping in an immersion solution. The documentation of plates was performed using TLC visualization device and the images of plates were processed using a digital processor. The developed HPTLC method was validated for selectivity, linearity and range, LOD and LOQ, precision, robustness and accuracy. The method was then applied for quantitative determination of glucose, fructose and sucrose from different types of Romanian honeys, commercially available.