Phenolic content, antioxidant and physico-chemical properties of Sardinian monofloral honeys

In this study, fifty-one monofloral Sardinian honeys from ten various floral origins were screened for their
phenolic content, antioxidant activity, colour and electrical conductivity. The total phenolic amounts have
been evaluated by Folin–Ciocalteu method, whereas quantification of several phenolic compounds (phenolic
acids and flavonoids) has been carried out by HPLC-DAD technique. The richest sample in phenolic
compounds resulted strawberry tree honey with about 40 mg GAE/100 g, as well FRAP test and DPPH˙
test confirm that antioxidant activity of strawberry tree honey extract exceed both honey extracts and synthetic
antioxidants like BHA and BHT. Among the studied phenolic compounds a total of five phenolic
acids (ferulic, syringic, trans-cinnamic, chlorogenic and p-hydroxycinnamic) and nine flavonoids (catechin,
kaempferol, rutin, quercetin, luteolin, apigenin, galangin, pinocembrin and pinobanksin) were identified.
Our results show good correlations between total polyphenol amount and antioxidant activity and
between colour and electrical conductivity