Evaluación del contenido de hidroximetilfurfural en miel comercial y artesanal de Los Ríos-Babahoyo

Abstract

Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is a compound that is produced after heat treatment of honeys, that is, they are not present in the initial raw materials and can present a potential health hazard, they are known as chemical processing contaminants. This compound is an indicator parameter of the quality of honey, which is produced spontaneously and its concentration increases with time and other factors; such as improper heat treatment during processing, storage temperature and mode of transportation.  The objective of this research is focused on evaluating the content of HMF present in 6 types of honey, 3 commercial brands and 3 artisanal brands, the honeys were from flowering eucalyptus and citrus fruits, the place where the honeys were acquired is in the Province of Los Ríos, since being a geographical area with abundant flora, the main pollinators are bees (Apis Mellifera). In addition, heating of honey at different temperatures and time intervals was performed to assess whether hydroxymethylfurfural increases when heat is added to honey. The present work was carried out in the Phytopathology Laboratory of the Technical University of Babahoyo, the honeys of commercial and artisanal bees were acquired between 1 and 5 days before the trial. For the HMF analysis, a UV wave spectrophotometer was obtained, specified in the INEN 1637 standards, to determine the absorbance of the standard sample against the absorbance of the reference sample, at 284 and 336 nm in a 1 cm cell.