Relevant principal component analysis applied to the characterisation of portuguese heather honey

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was the characterisation of 'Serra da Lousa' heather honey by using novel statistical methodology, relevant principal component analysis, in order to assess the correlations between production year, locality and composition. Herein, we also report its chemical composition in terms of sugars, glycerol and ethanol, and physicochemical parameters. Sugars profiles from 'Serra da Lousa' heather and 'Terra Quente de Tras-os-Montes' lavender honeys were compared and allowed the discrimination: 'Serra da Lousa' honeys do not contain sucrose, generally exhibit lower contents of turanose, trehalose and maltose and higher contents of fructose and glucose. Different localities from 'Serra da Lousa' provided groups of samples with high and low glycerol contents. Glycerol and ethanol contents were revealed to be independent of the sugars profiles. These data and statistical models can be very useful in the comparison and detection of adulterations during the quality control analysis of 'Serra da Lousa' honey.