Volatile compounds of five types of unifloral honey in Northwest China: Correlation with aroma and floral origin based on HS-SPME/GC–MS combined with chemometrics

Discrimination of floral origin and its complemented aroma features is important for honey authentication. In this study, a comprehensive analysis of five unifloral honeys was analyzed based on the correlation between volatile compounds and aroma and floral origin using HS-SPME/GC-MS combined with chemometrics. A total of 92 volatiles were identified and relatively quantified in honey samples, 51 of which showed contribution to floral discrimination (p < 0.01), and 27 of which had aroma contribution, applying apocynum, jujube and amorpha honey with various fruity, elaeagnus with rosaceous and lavender with green flavor. Chemometrics analysis showed significant correlations between floral origin and volatiles, in particular, compounds hexanal, hexanol, heptanol and methyl enanthate were tentatively selected as the key compounds to discriminate lavender honey (Lavandula angustifolia Mill.) from others. These results reveal the volatiles and aroma features in five types of unifloral honey in Northwest China and offer compelling evidence for honey authentication.