Characterisation of honey from different regions of the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina

The Province of Buenos Aires (middle-east of Argentina) was divided into seven phytogeographic regions: Province Paranaense; Province of the Espinal, with two districts: Talar and Calden; Province of the Monte; and Province Pampeana, with three districts: Oriental, Occidental and Austral. One hundred and forty-four honey samples from these regions were characterised on the basis of their melissopalynological and physico-chemical data. Samples were obtained by cold extraction at the laboratory, and moisture, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), ash, acidity and proline contents were determined. Pollen, electrical conductivity, PH and colour were also analysed. The regions with higher percentages of unifloral honey (50% or more), were the Province of the Espinal, Talar district, and the Province Pampeana, Oriental and Austral districts. All samples presented HMF, ash, proline and free acidity contents according to international standards, and only 4 honey samples had moisture contents higher than 20.0%. The colour of honey was from water-white to amber, and all samples had very low ash contents. The analysis of variance showed significant differences among honey from different regions of the Province of Buenos Aires. The parameters which presented more differences between regions were moisture, ash and proline contents and the colour of honey; however, data showed a high variability between samples of the same region.