Physicochemical characteristics and pollen spectrum of some north-east Algerian honeys.

The qualities of seventeen honey samples harvested from the North-East\nareas of Algeria were evaluated by determining the pollen spectrum,\npollen number quantity and physicochemical attributes. Pollen analysis\ncan therefore be useful to determine the geographical and botanical\norigin of honeys. The following determinations were carried out: pH,\ndensity, acidity (free, lactone and total), moisture, electrical\nconductivity, hydroxymethylfurfural, diastase activity, apparent\nsucrose, and proteins. The results obtained in the present study show\nthe variability of chemical composition of the honey samples. It proved\nthat nine natural honeys are of blossoming origin; suitable for\nconsumption and that one (T5 conferred Bougous) can be used with fine\ndietetics, it is very rich in pollen which is regarded as protein\nsource. The remainder, eight honeys, were not in conformity with the\nInternational Regulatory Standards, their sugar contents (Sucrose) and\nhydroxymethylfurfural exceeded the International Regulatory Standards\nReview by the International Honey Commission, this was probably due to\nuse of syrup for the over-feeding the bees during the spring. The\nsample Bouhachana (G1) had high water content (more than 20%), low\ndensity and electrical conductivity higher than 5 µS/cm, which\nmakes it likely to undergo fermentation and degradation. Honeys of\nGuerguour (T1), Boutheldja (T2) and Bouhadjar (T3) had pH lower than\nthe European standards concerning the quality control of the foodstuffs\n(exp. honey). These samples are fragile; so we cannot preserve them for\na long period. The palynological analysis (qualitative and\nquantitative) of the harvested samples in the area, showed the absence\nof a honey obtained from only one melliferous plant. All honeys are\npolyfloral exits of the several plant species visited by the worker\nbees during their blossoming periods. Three families are the most\nrepresented in the groups of pollen of accompaniment (the secondary\npollen ranged between 16-45%) and the pollen considered as rare (minor\npollen 3-15%) in the counted total number of the pollen grains in 10\ngrams of honey. These forager honey families are: Myrtaceae presented\nby the Eucalyptus, Papilionaceae presented by Hedysarum coronarium \nwhich is a forager plant characterized by a very vast surface of\ndevelopment, and Rosaceae represented by orchard and forest species.The\npollen grain number counted in honeys is very significant (between 80\n000 and 24 832 000pollen grain), what makes it possible to classify the\nsamples analyzed among the categories rich in pollen.