Some Characteristic Properties of Chestnut and Rhododendron Honeys in Turkey

Chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) and Rhododendron (Rhododendron spp. L.) (mad honey) honeys are produced generally in Black Sea Region in Turkey and both of them are the special honeys because of their organic component content and known their high antioxidant capacity. In the first step of this study we researched the melissopalynological differentiation of the chestnut and rhododendron honeys and then in the second step we determined the chemical compounds and sugar content of the rhododendron, chestnut and mixed chestnut&rhododendron honeys. For this purpose total 18 honey samples were collected from 4 different districts from Black Sea Region of Turkey and melissopalynological analyses were done by microscope. Chemical composition and sugar content (fructose&glucose) were determined by High Performance Liquid Chromatograpy (HPLC) and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). After melissopalynological anaylses were obtained 10 monofloral chestnut, 2 monofloral rhododendron and 6 mixed chestnut&rhododendron honeys. As a result of sugar analysis with HPLC, F/G rates were found between 1.17 and 1.80. GC-MS chemical substance analyses of honeys revealed alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, aliphatic acids and their esters, carboxylic acids and their esters and flavanonoids.