Identification of the Main Phenolic Markers in Turkish Pine Honeys and Their Biological Functions

The purpose of this research was to identify the biological activity of Turkish pine honeys and the most abundant phenolic compound(s) to guide future studies to be done about this type of honey. Moreover, this will provide the chance to introduce Turkish pine honeys by elucidating a distinct parameter compared to other forms of honey reported in the literature. To this end, microscopic examination based on the number of honeydew elements (NHE) and the number of total pollen (NTP) grains was performed on 17 samples of pine honeys from the Aegean region of Turkey. Then 18 commonly-occurring phenolic standards were used in high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to examine the samples. Each sample was tested for individual phenolic compounds, as well as total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP). As shown by the numerical data, the values for NHE and NTP were 6600–144000 and 3000–75000, respectively. In addition, the general means of TPC, TFC, and FRAP values for the samples were 53.000 mg GAE/100 g fresh sample, 1.944 mg QE/100 g fresh sample, and 3.455 μmol FeSO₄/g fresh sample, respectively. Protocatechuic acid predominated with a range of 197.841–780.227 μg phenolic /100 g sample in all samples. According to the general mean for values detected in the samples, p-hydroxybenzoic acid and benzoic acid were the second and third markers for Turkish pine honey samples. It is believed that these results will help efforts to set standards for pine honey on a national and global scale.