Multivariate correlation between color and mineral composition of honeys and by their botanical origin.

The mineral content and color characteristics of 77 honey samples were analyzed. Eighteen minerals were quantified for each honey. Multiple linear regression (MLR) was used to establish equations relating the colorimetric CIELAB coordinates to the mineral data. The results obtained shown that lightness (L) was significantly correlated with S, Ca, Fe, As, Pb, and Cd for the dark honey types (avocado, heather, chestnut, and honeydew). For the light and brown honey types (citrus, rosemary, lavender, eucalyptus, and thyme), C(ab) and b showed the lower correlation with the mineral content of the honeys; their regression functions involve a few independent variables (Mg and Al for b and only Al for C(ab)). Furthermore, by means of application of linear discriminant analysis to the mineral content, it was possible to obtain a model that classifies the honeys by their lightness. The prediction ability of the built model, determined with the test set method, was 85%.

[1]  F. Heredia,et al.  Contribution to the study of avocado honeys by their mineral contents using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry , 2005 .

[2]  F. Heredia,et al.  Colour characteristics of honeys as influenced by pollen grain content: a multivariate study , 2004 .

[3]  A. Terrab,et al.  Mineral content and electrical conductivity of the honeys produced in Northwest Morocco and their contribution to the characterisation of unifloral honeys , 2003 .

[4]  F. Heredia,et al.  Chromatic Characterisation of Moroccan Honeys by Diffuse Reflectance and Tristimulus Colorimetry — Non-uniform and Uniform Colour Spaces , 2002 .

[5]  M. Buera,et al.  Color changes during storage of honeys in relation to their composition and initial color , 1999 .

[6]  R. Mateo,et al.  Classification of Spanish Unifloral Honeys by Discriminant Analysis of Electrical Conductivity, Color, Water Content, Sugars, and pH. , 1998, Journal of agricultural and food chemistry.

[7]  M. Poiana,et al.  Ricerche sui mieli commercializzati in Italia : La componente minerale , 1996 .

[8]  E. Crane.  Bees, honey and pollen as indicators of metals in the environment , 1984 .

[9]  J. Free,et al.  Using foraging honeybees to sample an area for trace metals , 1983 .

[10]  B. Tabachnick,et al.  Using Multivariate Statistics , 1983 .

[11]  A. Maurizio.  Microscopy of honey , 1975 .

[12]  G. Erdtman.  The acetolysis method-a revised description , 1960 .

[13]  E. Lynn,et al.  EFFECT OF PROCESSING AND STORAGE ON COMPOSITION AND COLOR OF HONEY , 1936 .