Determination of phenolic content, antiradical, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of Turkish pine honey

Abstract

Pine (Pinus brutia Ten.) honey obtained from Mugla (n=12) and Marmaris (n=8) in the southwest of Turkey were evaluated for total phenolic content by the Folin-Ciocalteu method, for potential antioxidant capacity using phosphomolybdenum assay and by the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl method for antiradical activity. The results of the study showed that total phenolic content of honey obtained from Mugla and Marmaris ranged from 62.01 and 68.78 mg/100 g honey as gallic acid equivalent, respectively. The antioxidant capacity of honey obtained from Mugla and Marmaris were 16.82 and 22.16 mg ascorbic acid equivalent/g honey, respectively. The antiradical activity of honey samples were assayed in vitro by measuring the inhibition of the scavenging activities of pine honey collected from Mugla and Marmaris which were found to be 44.05 and 57.49%, respectively. Pine honey did not show antimicrobial activity at 5, 10 and 25% concentrations. The samples showed their highest antimicrobial activity against some microorganisms, especially Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. However, Aeromonas hydrophila, Yersinia enterocolitica, E. coli O157:H7, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida albicans were the most resistant microorganisms. The results revealed that the pine honey studied proved to be a good source of antioxidant and antimicrobial agents which might serve to protect human health.