QUANTIFICATION OF SECONDARY METABOLITES IN CERANA HONEY AND ITS POTENTIAL ANTIOXIDANT PROPERTY

Abstract

The present study was conducted to estimate the secondary metabolites which include, total phenols, flavonoids, carotenoids and ascorbic acid contents in multi-floral cerana honey samples collected from three different beekeepers (2 samples from each site) in Kanakapura Taluk of Bengaluru Karnataka, India. The samples were collected between January to March 2017 and they were also subjected to free radical scavenging assay. The results revealed the presence of appreciable amounts of total phenols (118 ± 72 mg GAE/100 g), flavonoids (0.69 ± 0.36 mg QE/100g), carotenoids (0.62 ± 0.29 mg $\beta$- carotene/100 g), ascorbic acid (9.52 ± 3.91 mg/100 g) in the tested samples. The correlation between total phenols (r2 = -0.880) and ascorbic acid (r2 =
-0.290) contents with free radical scavenging activity has clearly indicated the superior quality of honey as a natural antioxidant.