Correlations between colour lightness and the sweetness of stingless bee honey with its minerals content

Yew John Huat Tang, . and Izzati Shahira Rosidi Sujanto, . and Nadiawati Alias, . and Mohd Fahmi Abu Bakar, . and Nur Syahidah Ramly, . and Norhayati Ngah, . and Asmaliza Abd Ghani, . Correlations between colour lightness and the sweetness of stingless bee honey with its minerals content. pp. 88-96. ISSN 2180-1983

The colour and the sweetness of honey are the main characteristics refers by consumers when buying honey for their consumption. Consumers always believe that the darker the colour and the sweeter the taste the better the quality of honey. This study aims to investigate the correlation of colour lightness and the sweetness of stingless bee honey with its mineral contents. Honey samples were collected from seven beehives around Terengganu Malaysia. All samples have different colour sand tastes. The colour of honey was measured based on CIELAB colour system using a reflectance spectrometry and the sweetness of honey is measured using a refractometer. ICP-OES is used to analyze mineral elements present in the honey samples. We found that the lighter the colour of honey the less sweet it is (r -0.77). The results obtained also shows that the lighter the colour of honey the higher the amount of potassium (r -0.94) and phosphorus (r -0.94) in honey. Meanwhile the sweeter the honey the higher the amount of potassium (r 0.87) sodium (r 0.85) and phosphorus (r 0.82). Our findings prove that the colour and sweetness of honey can only be used to estimate the certain nutritive value of honey. Even though these findings still cannot fully uncover the myth of honey; consumers still can depend on these characteristics to choose the best honey for their own consumption.

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Abstract

The colour and the sweetness of honey are the main characteristics refers by consumers when buying honey for their consumption. Consumers always believe that the darker the colour and the sweeter the taste the better the quality of honey. This study aims to investigate the correlation of colour lightness and the sweetness of stingless bee honey with its mineral contents. Honey samples were collected from seven beehives around Terengganu Malaysia. All samples have different colour sand tastes. The colour of honey was measured based on CIELAB colour system using a reflectance spectrometry and the sweetness of honey is measured using a refractometer. ICP-OES is used to analyze mineral elements present in the honey samples. We found that the lighter the colour of honey the less sweet it is (r -0.77). The results obtained also shows that the lighter the colour of honey the higher the amount of potassium (r -0.94) and phosphorus (r -0.94) in honey. Meanwhile the sweeter the honey the higher the amount of potassium (r 0.87) sodium (r 0.85) and phosphorus (r 0.82). Our findings prove that the colour and sweetness of honey can only be used to estimate the certain nutritive value of honey. Even though these findings still cannot fully uncover the myth of honey; consumers still can depend on these characteristics to choose the best honey for their own consumption.

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Item Type:	Article
AGROVOC Term:	Honey bees
AGROVOC Term:	Honey
AGROVOC Term:	Chemical analysis (results)
AGROVOC Term:	Colour
AGROVOC Term:	Sweetness
AGROVOC Term:	Flavour
AGROVOC Term:	Potassium
AGROVOC Term:	Phosphorus
AGROVOC Term:	Sodium
AGROVOC Term:	Mineral content
Depositing User:	Mr. AFANDI ABDUL MALEK
Last Modified:	24 Apr 2025 00:55
URI:	http://webagris.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/10035

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