A COMPARATIVE-STUDY OF HESPERETIN AND METHYL ANTHRANILATE AS MARKERS OF THE FLORAL ORIGIN OF CITRUS HONEY

Methyl anthranilate (MA) and hesperetin have been compared as markers for the floral origin of citrus honey. In the present work the contents of MA and hesperetin have been determined by GC and HPLC respectively in 18 honey samples produced in Mediterranean Spain. There was no correlation between the contents of MA and hesperetin. The concentration of MA ranged between 1.44 and 3.60 mg kg(-1) while hesperetin ranged between 0.28 and 0.84 mg kg(-1). These results support the hypothesis that hesperetin could be used as an additional marker in the determination of citrus honey origin.