Nutritional and Microbiological Components of Honey Samples Obtained From Ogun State, Southwestern Nigeria

Abstract

There are no detailed studies on the nutritional and microbiological characteristics of honey produced in Ogun State in the Southwestern part of Nigeria. This paper investigated these components in honeys produced from different parts of this state. A total of 10 honey samples per year were collected for the years 2008 -2010. These were separately analyzed for their physical properties, nutritional and microbiological components in the laboratory. The results of the physical properties showed that honey samples obtained from Ago-Iwoye has the lowest pH of 3.48, which was significantly different from the pH values of 5.06, 5.21 and 4.06 obtained from honey samples from Abeokuta, Ibefun and Ilisan honey samples respectively. There was significant difference in moisture contents of honey samples obtained from Ogere (16.19 %), Otta (19.14 %) and Ijebu-Ode (18.21 %), while the percentage ash contents of 0.78 % obtained from honey samples collected from Abeokuta was not significantly different from the value of 0.75 % obtained from Ago-Iwoye honey (P ≤ 0.05). However, the value of 1.11 mg 100 g -1 for hydroxymethylfurfural obtained from Ago-Iwoye honey samples was not significantly different from the value of 0.32 mg 100 g -1 in honey samples obtained from Sagamu. The value for glucose ranged from 18.42 -30.16 g 100 g -1 , while fructose sugar varied between 25.42 -38.21 g 100 g -1 . Minimum protein value of 0.02 % was obtained from Ijebu-Ode honey, while the maximum of 0.51 % was obtained from honey samples from Ilisan. Results of the elemental nutrient showed that potassium was the most abundant element in honey samples with the range value of 14.78 -17.42 mg 100 g -1 followed by calcium, which varied from 2.13 -11.25 mg 100 g -1 . However, result of microbiological properties showed that the total plate count varied from 0.2 -3.4 cfu g -1 , whereas total coliforms were not detected in honey samples collected from Ago-Iwoye, Otta, Ibefun, Ife and Sagamu. Clostridium spp, Bacillus spp and yeast were also detected at low count in all honey samples investigated. Moreover, honey samples obtained from different parts of Ogun State were found to be contaminated with Pseudomonas spp., Xanthomonas spp., Bacillus spp., E. coli and Clostridium spp, while fungi spores intercepted were Pennicillium oxalicum, Aspergilus niger, A. Flavus and Fusarium oxysporum at different levels and counts.

Comparative Study and Analysis of Proximate Compositions and Some Mineral Contents in Natural and Artificial Honey from Ogun State, Nigeria

“…The ash contents of the natural and the artificial honey were 0.29±0.05% and 0.15±0.09% respectively. These results fall within the limits of <0.6g/100g by Codex Alimentarius Commission, [17] and also agreed with the values of 0.44 to 0.50% reported by Oyeyemi et al [6] and 0.12 to 0.50 by Adenekan et al [11]. This study revealed that natural honey with higher ash content contains more minerals than the artificial honey.…”

“…Traditionally, honey has been used as a medicinal remedy for the treatment of wound, various ailments and diseases [10]. The healing capacity of honey is strongly influenced by the physical and chemical properties of honey [11,12]. Honey comes in a range of colors including white, amber, red, brown and almost black [13].…”

Proximate, mineral and melissopalynological analyses of honeys produced by Apis mellifera adansonii maintained at the University of Lagos Apiary

“…<20g/100g) stipulated by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and European Union Commission as international standard for honey moisture. The moisture content of the samples falls within the range reported for some Nigerian commercial honeys (Omafuvbe and Akanbi, 2009;Adenekan et al, 2012). Hygroscopic nature, maturity level of honey, hive type, storage and the climatic conditions during the harvesting period are some of the factors affecting moisture content of honey (Ambaye and Mekonen, 2016;Tesfaye et al, 2016).…”

Comparison of selected local honey with Manuka honey based on their nutritional and antioxidant properties

“…In the United States, honey has been advocated to be used as a substitute for refined sugars due to its lower glycemic index compared with sucrose (National Honey Board, 2015). Honey not only imparts sweetness but also provides other nutrients such as vitamins and minerals, which improved its nutrient quality (Adenekan et al, 2012). Besides, honey is slightly sweeter than sugars because it contains high fructose content; therefore, a lesser amount of honey can achieve the same sweetness intensity as refined sugar does (National Honey Board, 2015).…”