A new study in Food Quality and Safety sheds new light on how different ways of extracting honey change its nutritional content, antioxidant properties, and even honeybees’ lifespan and mental skills.
Researchers from the Honeybee Research Institute at Jiangxi Agricultural University in China compared honey that was extracted by centrifugation and honey that was extracted by pressing.
The results showed that the physicochemical features of the two methods were very different.
Two Methods, Two Different Honeys
Centrifugation or honeycomb pressing are two popular ways for beekeepers to get honey out of honeycombs.
In the centrifugation method, honeycombs are spun in a machine to separate the honey from the wax. In the pressing method, the honeycombs are crushed by hand to get the honey out.
The study looked at honey from ten colonies of Apis cerana. Five colonies were centrifuged, and the other five were pressed.
Researchers discovered that these two ways of making honey have different chemical makes that change its health benefits, ability to fight free radicals, and effect on bees.
Key Findings on Honey Composition
The change in protein content was one of the most interesting findings. It’s possible that pressed honey has more protein because the process lets more pollen and other healthy ingredients mix into the final product.
This is important because pollen is a very useful part of honey because it is full of amino acids, vitamins, and minerals.
Also, honey that had been centrifuged had higher levels of total acidity and sugar. It also had higher levels of amylase activity, which is a sign of how many enzymes are present.
However, the amounts of moisture, fructose, and glucose in both types of honey were about the same. This means that they would be equally sweet and stable on the shelf.
Antioxidant Power: Pressed Honey Wins
The study also looked at how well both kinds of honey work as antioxidants. There were more flavonoids and phenolic acids in pressed honey.
Flavonoids and phenolic acids are both needed to fight free radicals and provide health benefits like lowering inflammation and making the immune system work better.
The DPPH and ABTS tests, which check for the ability to remove radicals, showed that pressed honey had better antioxidant properties.
From these results, it looks like pressed honey might be a better choice for people who want honey with more health benefits.
Impact on Honeybee Lifespan and Memory
Interestingly, the way the honey was extracted also changed how long worker bees lived and how well they could learn.
Bees that were fed pressed honey lived longer than bees that were fed centrifuged honey or a test solution made of sucrose.
A normal proboscis extension response (PER) test, which is often used to check how smart bees are, also showed that bees that ate pressed honey were better at learning and remembering things.
Based on these results, pressed honey may be better for bees’ general nutrition, which could help keep the colony healthy and working well.
Why Does It Matter?
The study brings up an important problem in beekeeping and honey consumption today. The way honey is extracted changes not only its taste and texture, but also its nutritional value and general quality.
For beekeepers, picking the right method could affect the health of their colonies in the long run. For customers, pressed honey may be better for their health.
But the researchers also pointed out a possible downside: pressed honey might go bad faster because it has more pollen in it, so more study needs to be done on how long it lasts.
Implications for Beekeepers and Consumers
For beekeepers, these results show that pressed honey might sell for more money because it has more health benefits and nutrients.
However, its potential for faster spoilage might require changes in storage and handling methods.
People should buy pressed honey instead of raw honey, especially if they want honey with more protein and vitamins.
The results also suggest that honey that has been filtered, ultra-pasteurized, and processed may not have as many health benefits as honey that has been lightly processed.