Degradation of 5‐Hydroxymethylfurfural in Honey

Abstract

5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is the most important intermediate product of the acid-catalyzed dehydration reaction of hexoses and/or Maillard reaction; furthermore, it is the most used index to evaluate thermal damages or ageing in food products. Usually its degradation reactions, being very slow, are neglected. This study reports the findings concerning the degradation kinetics of HMF, in honeys of different floral origin at a temperature between 25 and 50 degrees C. The results highlighted higher degradation rates (k(HMF) (degradation)) compared to the corresponding formation rates (k(HMF) (formation)) in chestnut and citrus samples. Similar k-values were found in multifloral honey. Moreover, the reaction of HMF degradation was characterized by lower activation energy (E(a)) values compared to E(a) formation values. The final concentration of HMF in honey, during storage at room temperature, should be ascribed to high sugar concentration. The fluctuation of HMF in honeys could depend on the equilibrium between the accumulation and the degradation processes. This can affect the validity of HMF as storage index in some honeys, above all during the analysis of those honeys whose legislation is too restrictive (citrus) or in chestnut honey analysis where it does not accumulate.

Effect of sulphuring on physicochemical characteristics andaroma of dried Alkaya apricot: a new Turkish variety

“…The presence of HMF was not detected in sulphured or unsulphured dried apricot samples, but this cannot exclude browning due to the Maillard reaction. In fact, the pH value of dried apricots, 4.5 and 5.1, respectively, is not favourable to HMF accumulation (Fallico et al, 2008). However, it could lead to the accumulation of other intermediates of the Maillard reaction, such as dicarbonyl compounds (Arena et al, 2011a(Arena et al, , 2011b.…”

Validação de método para a determinação de 5-hidroximetilfurfural em mel por cromatografia líquida e sua influência na qualidade do produto

“…O parâmetro mais utilizado para conferir se ocorreu um aquecimento indesejável, ou avaliar o tempo de estocagem do mel, são os teores de 5-hidroximetilfurfural (HMF) e o índice de diastase. 3 O HMF geralmente não está presente em méis frescos e seu conteúdo tende a aumentar durante o processo de aquecimento e o longo tempo de estocagem, [4][5][6] pela reação de Maillard em carboidratos ou desidratação catalítica ácida das hexoses. O HMF é um dos principais produtos de degradação no mel sendo o aumento de sua concentração influenciada pelo baixo pH, acidez total, minerais, origem botânica, umidade, temperatura e stress fotoquímico.…”

“…7,8 A flutuação de HMF em méis uniflorais armazenados à temperatura ambiente tem sido considerado como um parâmetro muito importante para certificar a qualidade dos méis disponíveis no mercado ou estimar sua estabilidade de prateleira. 3 A presença de componentes potencialmente tóxicos (tais como aldeídos reativos) em alimentos vem aumentando a atenção de agências protetoras do consumidor e de controle de qualidade. Em particular, alguns estudos mostram que o HMF está entre as substâncias de risco de citotoxicidade, genotoxicidade e atividade mutagênica.…”

5-Hydroxymethyl-2-Furfural (HMF) – Heat-Induced Formation, Occurrence in Food and Biotransformation - a Review

“…Rate constants of degradation process at temperatures between 25 and 50°C (for citric as well as chestnut honey) were higher than the corresponding rate constant of formation. These findings should be taken under consideration in proper legislation process [Fallico et al, 2008].…”