Meads with Brazilian honey from different botanical origins

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate the quality of meads prepared with multifloral honey, unifloral orange blossom honey, and a mixture of both. To prepare the meads, multifloral honey and orange blossom honey from Southern and Southeastern Brazil, respectively, were used. The physicochemical properties, total phenolic content, and antioxidant capacity of the meads were determined. The phenolic compounds were identified by mass spectrometry, and sensory tests were carried out. Multifloral honey showed higher levels of ash content, reducing sugars, and total phenolic compounds than orange blossom honey. The multifloral and mixed meads presented the highest levels of total phenolics, total polyphenol index, and antioxidant capacity. The orange blossom mead showed the highest scores in the sensory analysis for color, aroma, flavor, and global acceptance. The phenolic compounds identified in the meads were the chlorogenic, protocatechuic, syringic, and p-coumaric acids, as well as naringenin and quercetin. The physicochemical, functional, and sensory characteristics of the meads are affected by the honey used in their preparation.