Kinetics of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural formation in chinese acacia honey during heat treatment

In this paper, the 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) contents of the acacia honeys after heat treatment were determined by HPLC; the kinetics of HMF formation was also investigated. The HMF content of acacia honey was 0.38±0.01mg/kg, but rapidly increased to the maximum of 18,320.07±14.29 mg/kg at 190°C and decreased to 1,180.24±6.54 mg/kg at 230°C after heating. The HMF content increased gradually in honey samples heated in 12 h at the temperature of 80, 100, and 120°C. The apparent frequency constant was kf =3.91×1025/h, and the apparent activation energy was Ea=173.10 kJ/mol. The HMF content in the acacia honey was related to honey composition, heating temperature, and time, and the HMF formation could also be related to the initial honey pH.