Acacia honey

I chose a French martini to greet my freedom from worry, guilt and doubt—a drink with the pink of health. A French martini is typically a vodka martini, with the addition of Chambord Liqueur Royale de France, a black raspberry Cognac liqueur that also includes citrus, cinnamon, vanilla and French acacia honey. 

Some phenolic acids such as ellagic acid can be used as floral markers of heather honey (Cherchi et al., 1994 Ferreres et al., 1996a,b), and the hydroxyciimamates (caffeic, p-coumaric, and ferulic acids) as floral markers of chestnut honey (Cherchi et al., 1994). Pinocembrin, pinobanksin, and chrysin are the characteristic flavonoids of propolis, and these flavo-noid compounds have been found in most European honey samples (Tomas-Barberan et al., 2001). However, for lavender and acacia honeys, no specific phenolic compoimds could be used as suitable floral markers (Tomas-Barberan et al., 2001). Other potential phytochemical markers like abscisic acid may become floral markers in heather honey (Cherchi et al., 1994). Abscisic acid was also detected in rapeseed, lime, and acacia honey samples (Tomas-Barberan et al., 2001). Snow and Manley-Harris (2004) studied antimicrobial activity of phenolics. 

R. Consonni and L.R. Cagliani, Geographical characterization of polyfloral and acacia honeys by nuclear magnetic resonance and chemometrics, J. Agric. Food Chem., 56(16), 6873-6880 (2008). 

Honey is the flower transformed, the landscape distilled. From the rich chestnut-blossom honey of Italy to the pale gold eucalyptus and acacia honeys of the rugged California coast, every variety of honey is redolent of a distinct place. 

Comparison of the levels of radioactive contamination found in the honeys produced from the different species of trees also provides interesting information. Thus fir honey seems to highly concentrate radionuclides. The Cs and Cs concentrations in chestnut honeys are also generally high. Conversely, acacia honey appears as a weak indicator of radioactive pollution. Our results confirm those found by Tonelli and co-workers [8], who report that the mean concentrations of Cs found in Italian chestnut honey and acacia honey in May-June 1986 were 70.2 58.7Bq/kg (22.2 to 180) and 27.3 19.6Bq/kg (5.1 to 65.5), respectively. 

Because of the fairly short half-life of " Cs, it is not surprising to see only traces of this radionuclide in all the recent analyzed honey samples (Table 9.2). However, Table 9.2 shows that fairly different concentrations of Cs are found in the honey samples. In general, the acacia honeys appear to be less contaminated than the other honeys of different botanical origins. However, because of the different concentrations recorded for the same type of honey, it is clear that specific topographical, climatical, and ecological factors have influenced the radionuclide contamination process of these honeys. Thus, as stressed previously, the high concentra-... 

Typology of French acacia honeys based on their concentrations in metallic and nonmetallic elements... 

The elemental analysis of 150 French acacia honeys (Robinia pseudoacacia... 

L.) collected by beekeepers in apparently polluted and nonpolluted environments was performed by using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) to measure significant concentrations of Ag, Ca, Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, P, S, Zn, Al, Cd, Hg, Ni, and Pb. Fortunately, Cd, Hg, Ni, and Pb were not detected in the analyzed samples. Conversely, Ag, Cu, Al, Zn, and S were found in some samples located near industrial areas. Because a high variability was found in the concentration profiles, correspondence factor analysis was used to rationalize the data and provide a typology of the honeys based on the concentration of these different elements in the honeys. The results were confirmed by means of principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis. Finally, the usefulness of the acacia honey as a bioindicator of heavy metal contamination is discussed. 

A total of 150 different acacia honeys were obtained from various French departments (Figure 12.1). All samples were collected in May-June 1999. Honeys were sent by post to the analytical laboratory for determination of their metallic and nonmetallic element content. 

Elemental analysis of French acacia honey 253 Table 12.2 Element concentrations (ppm) in acacia honeys collected in France... 

In order to perform a rational analysis of Table 12.2 and provide a typology of the acacia honeys based on their detectable concentrations in metallic and nonmetalUc elements, different linear multivariate analyses were performed on this 13 x 150 data matrix. 

O.lOmg/kg) and the highest concentration of Mo (i.e. 0.81mg/kg). Undoubtedly, Co and Mo are found mainly in the acacia honeys collected in polluted areas. However, exceptions can be found. 

Conversely, some of the 150 acacia honeys analyzed are highly contaminated by Ag, Cr, Zn and/or other elements which are undoubtedly linked to human pollutions. However, the true source of the contamination is often difficult to determine. While samples collected in contaminated sites generally present the highest concentrations in these elements, exceptions can be found. Thus, honeys originating from apparently unpolluted sites can present a fairly high level of contamination for one or more of... 

From 150 samples collected with comparable protocols, in various identified polluted and nonpolluted environments, aU being located in France, it has been possible to show that acacia honey was not a good bioindicator of the environmental pollution by heavy metals and related elements. Indeed, it is true that generally the most contaminated honeys correspond to samples collected in hives located within polluted areas. Flowever, contaminations can also be found in apparently uncontaminated areas. Even if some of these contaminations may be explained by acidic reactions of the honey with metallic surfaces during their processing, because some beekeepers were not able to respect our sampling protocol, the true source of contamination of the collected samples often remains difficult to determine. 

More generally, our analytical results and multivariate analyses reveal that acacia honeys present a very high variability in their concentrations in metallic and nonmetallic elements. This makes it impossible to propose an average profile for characterizing the French acacia honeys from their elemental analysis. It would be worthwhile investigating whether similar conclusions can be drawn from the analysis of other types of French honeys. 

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