Antioxidant capacity of honeys from various floral sources

Antioxidant capacity of honeys from various floral sources

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
2002;8;50(10):3050-5
Antioxidant capacity of honeys from various floral sources and inhibition of in vitro lipoprotein oxidation in human serum samples
In this study honeys from seven different floral sources (acacia, buckwheat, clover, fireweed, Hawaiian Christmas berry, tupelo, and soybean) were analyzed for in vitro antioxidant capacity and total phenolic content. Antioxidant capacity was measured by the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assay and by monitoring the formation of conjugated dienes as an index of the inhibition of copper-catalyzed serum lipoprotein oxidation. ORAC values for the honeys ranged from 3.0 micromol Trolox equivalent/g for acacia to 17.0 micromol Trolox equivalent/g for buckwheat and all were significantly higher than the sugar analogue (p < 0.05). A linear correlation was observed between phenolic content and ORAC activity of the investigated honeys (p < 0.0001, R (2) = 0.9497). The relationship between the ORAC activity and inhibition of lipoprotein oxidation by the honeys yielded a correlation coefficient of 0.6653 (p = 0.0136). This work shows that honey may serve as a source of dietary antioxidants and a healthy alternative to sugar.