Identification of Honey Volatile Components by Solid Phase Microextraction (spme) and Gas Chromatography/mass Spectrometry (gc/ms)

Volatile compounds in honey samples of different botanical origins were investigated. Solid phase microextraction (SPME) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) revealed a total of 86 compounds in the headspace of 4 types of honey – multifloral, heather, buckwheat and lime-honeydew. The chemical composition of the headspace was very diverse, owing to the presence of compounds from different chemical classes, for instance: alcohols, fenols, ketones, organic acids, esters and hydrocarbons (aliphatic, aromatic and cyclic). The performed analysis showed that the obtained volatile profiles of the examined honeys differed and it was concluded that analysis of the volatiles could be effective for the characterization of the honeys botanical source.