Physico-chemical properties of multifloral honey Apis dorsata and monofloral honey of bees Apis mellifera

Physicochemical properties of honey as one of the information about the quality of honey. The type of bee, geographic location, and type of vegetation the source of the honey bee feed influence the physico-chemical properties of honey. This study aims to determine the physico-chemical properties of multifloral honey of Apis dorsata bees and monofloral honey of Apis mellifera bees. The honey samples for this study consisted of 4 multifloral honey samples and 4 monofloral honey samples. Physicochemical parameters of honey include water content, color, pH, acidity, reducing sugars, and hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). Data were analyzed descriptively and quantitatively. The results of the analysis showed that most of the research honey had a water content above the SNI 8664-2018 standard. Honey that has high levels is easy to ferment and to overcome this by lowering the water content of honey through a dehumidifier. Monofloral honey has an intensity value of 47 to 143 mm Pfund, while multifloral honey has 74 to 100 mm Pfund. The pH value of honey ranges from 3.5 to 4.5. The level of acidity, reducing sugar content, and HMF content of all honey samples in the study complied with SNI-8664. There are differences in the physical and chemical characteristics of multifloral honey and monofloral honey.


Introduction
Honey bees as social insects that live in colonies produce honey, pollen, royal jelly, propolis, bee venom, and beeswax [1].Indonesia has a high species richness of bees, because as many as five species of honey bees are native to Indonesia [2].Apis mellifera is an imported bees from Australia and can adapt to the environment in Indonesia, which is widely cultivated on Java Island.Around 25% of the total honey production in Indonesia is produced from A. mellifera bees [3].Apis dorsata bees are classified as wild bees and cannot be cultivated, whose distribution covers most of Indonesia [4].The results of collecting honey from A. dorsata bees are the largest contributor to total honey production in Indonesia [5], estimated at around 70 to 80% of total honey production in Indonesia [6].
For their survival, honey bees need nectar and pollen [7].The diversity of plant species that exist in Indonesia as a producer of nectar allows the availability of various types of honey with different characteristics ( [8].In Indonesia there are about 115 types of plants as a source of nectar for honey bees [9].Based on its type, honey from flower nectar is classified into monofloral and multifloral honey.Monofloral honey is produced from nectar that comes from one type of flower, while multifloral honey is produced from nectar that comes from various flowers.In general, A. mellifera bees are grazed in plantation areas with nectar sourced from one type of plant flower such as kapok, rambutan, rubber and mango.Multifloral honey is often called forest honey from A. dorsata bees with various sources of nectar that exist in a forest area Honey is the most widely used bee product [10].Honey components consist of 80-85% carbohydrates (glucose and fructose), 15-17% water, 0.1-0.4% protein, 0.2% ash and other components in small quantities such as amino acids, minerals, enzymes, and vitamins [11;12;13].Sugar as the main component of honey consists of fructose (38.3%), glucose (30.3%), maltose (7.1%) and sucrose (1.3%) [14].Various factors affect the composition and physical-chemical properties of honey, including soil types, climate and vegetation types [11].
The physico-chemical characteristics of honey are very important to know as an indicator of honey quality [15;16].Various factors affect the diversity of the composition and quality of honey, namely the type of nectar source, geographical location, temperature, humidity, climate, type of bee, harvesting process and post-harvest handling [17; 18; 16].The quality of honey in Indonesia is regulated in the Indonesian National Standard (SNI) Number 8664-2018.SNI 8664-2018 divides the quality of honey based on Apis sp.bees, namely A. dorsta bees (forest honey), A. mellifera and A. cerana bees (cultivation honey) and stingless bee honey (Trigona sp.) [19.Honey quality is good if it meets the honey quality standards required by SNI 8664-2018 [20].
Research on the quality of honey has been carried out, among others, by Nuriman [21] concerning the quality of multifloral honey (forest honey) from Sumbawa with a water content above the SNI standard, while the sugar content meets the SNI 8664-2018 standard.The results of Hasan [22] study showed that 2 out of 12 multifloral honey from Riau had characteristics according to SNI standards based on HMF parameters, reducing sugars, water content and ash content.Research on the physicochemical characteristics of various types of monofloral honey and multifloral honey from A. mellifera and A. dorsata bees is still very limited.
Based on the description above, it is necessary to test the quality of honey from different types of bees and sources of nectar.The purpose of this study was to find out the physical and chemical comparison of the quality of monofloral honey of the A. mellifera species and multifloral honey of the A. dorsata bee according to the Indonesian National Standard.The results of this study are expected to provide information regarding the quality of honey from A. mellifera and A. dorsata bees produced from various honey harvesting areas.

Materials
The materials used in this study included monofloral honey from A. mellifera bees and multifloral honey from A. dorsata bees.The chemicals used in this study included distilled water, pH 7 and pH 4 buffers, sodium hydroxide, penolpthalin, oxalic acid, citric acid, ethanol, potassium ferrocyanide, zinc acetate and sodium bisulfite.The equipment used is an analytical balance, spectrophotometer, refractophotometer, pH meter and other research supporting equipment.
Sampling was taken by purposive sampling on several A. mellifera honey beekeepers and A. dorsata forest bee honey collectors, taken from 8 areas of honey production centers.A total of 8 honey samples were used in this study consisting of 4 monofloral honey samples from A. mellifera bees and 4 multifloral honey samples from A. dorsata bees.Monofloral honey sampling was carried out on Java Island consisting of rubber honey in Batang Regency, rambutan honey (Subang Regency), randu honey (Pati Regency) and mango honey (Pasuruan Regency), while multifloral honey sampling was carried out in Tanah Laut Regency and Banjar South Kalimantan and Kapuas Hulu District, West Kalimantan.

Methods
This study uses a quantitative approach supported by a qualitative approach with survey methods.The physicochemical parameters of honey analyzed consisted of water content, honey color, pH, acidity, reducing sugars and hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF).
Analysis of water content refers to AOAC [23] with a refractometer method.Color analysis used a honey color analyzer type HI 96785.Analysis of reducing sugar levels using the DNS [24].Analysis of acidity and HMF based on SNI 8664-2018 [19].The results of the analysis are compared with the Indonesian National Standard (SNI) 8664-2018 concerning honey [19].Data were analyzed descriptively.

Water content
The water content of honey is one of the parameters that affect the quality of honey [21].The water content in honey affects the durability of honey [25].The results of the analysis show that the water content of honey ranges from 22.0 to 28.0% (Figure 1).There are differences in honey water content at each harvesting location because it is influenced by environmental temperature and honey maturity level.
One sample out of seven honey samples met the requirements of SNI 8664-2023, namely a maximum of 22%.All samples of monofloral honey had a water content above the SNI standard, as did three samples of multifloral honey which had a high water content.The results of this study are in line with Nuriman [21] that the water content of forest honey (multifloral honey) from Sumbawa from A.
% dorsata bees has a high water content.The high water content of multifloral honey from A. dorsata bees is due to the condition of the nest which is in an open place, so it is more easily affected by seasonal changes compared to livestock honey whose nests are more closed [8].The high monofloral honey from A. mellifera bees was caused by the honeycomb combs that had not been covered with wax during harvesting.The maturity of the honey is indicated by the honeycomb being covered in wax.This is in line with the opinion [26] that harvesting honey in combs that have not been covered with wax has a higher water content.
The high water content can also be caused by the relative humidity of the air (RH) and the high temperature of the surrounding air [20; 8], because honey has hygroscopic properties, which easily absorbs moisture.The higher the humidity, the higher the water content of the honey.Air relative humidity in Indonesia ranges from 60 to 90% [8].The high humidity in Indonesia makes it difficult to get honey water content according to SNI requirements.One of the handling efforts is post-harvest processing by reducing the water content through a dehumidifier.The moisture content of honey is also influenced by climatic factors, types of nectar, types of bees, post-harvest handling and honey maturity level [8; 27].High water content of honey will result in the easy growth of yeast which results in honey being easily fermented thereby reducing the quality of honey.The yeast that causes fermentation is osmophilic yeast from the genus Zygosaccharomyces, which is resistant to high sugar concentrations [27].

Honey color
The color of honey is an important indicator for consumers in choosing honey products [17].In general, consumers prefer honey that is light in color compared to honey that is dark in color [28].
The results showed that monofloral honey has extra light amber to dark amber colors with intensity values of 38 to143 mm Pfund, while multifloral honey has light amber to amber colors with intensity values of 74 to100 mm Pfund.Mango honey (monofloral honey) from Pasuruan Regency has the darkest color with an intensity value of 143 mm Pfund, while multifloral honey from Banjar Regency has the highest intensity value of 100 mm Pfund.The color of monofloral honey and multifloral honey is very diverse.The difference in the color of honey is due to the different types of dominant nectar sources consumed by honey bees at each honey harvesting location.This research is in line with the opinion of Wibowo [1] which stated that the color of honey is influenced by the type of plant nectar.Various factors affect the color of honey, namely the source of nectar, mineral content, storage time and processing [8;29].The longer the storage, the darker the color of honey.Dark-colored honey tends to contain more phenolic and mineral compounds than light-colored honey [29; 8].The pH value of honey is an indicator in determining the quality of honey [30].The results of the analysis show that monofloral honey has a pH in the range of 4.1 to 4.5 with an average pH of 4.3 while multifloral honey has a pH of 3.5 to 4.5 with an average pH of 4.0 (Figure 3).Honey obtained from South Kalimantan has the lowest pH, which is 3.5.This research is in line with [31] that the pH of honey has a range of 3.2 to 4.5, while the results of Adityarini [20] research with a pH of 3.42 to 6.01.
Differences in pH values are due to differences in minerals and acids contained in honey [32].Two samples of monofloral and multifloral honey have the same pH.This shows that the type of bee does not affect the pH of honey.The results of this study are in line with [33] which states that bee species do not significantly affect the pH of honey.
Honey is acidic because it has acidic compounds such as gluconic acid, acetic acid, citric acid, lactic acid, oxalic acid, butyric acid and formic acid [31].The acidity value of honey affects the taste and aroma of honey [34].Honey that has a low pH can prevent the growth of bacteria in honey.The pH value of honey is influenced by the mineral content in honey, several types of acids such as amino acids and gluconic acid, the processing process and the shelf life of honey [35; 8].

Acidity
The acidity of honey as a parameter determines the quality of honey [27] because it affects the taste, aroma and markers of the fermentation process [34].The results of the analysis show that the acidity of honey is in the range of 1.83 to 7.5 ml of NaOH 0.1N/kg.The average acidity of monofloral honey is 4.93 ml NaOH 0.1N/kg, while multifloral honey is 2.79 ml NaOH 0.1N/kg (Figure 4).The low acidity of honey indicates that honey has not undergone fermentation.The highest honey acidity was obtained from randu honey (monofloral honey) from Pati Regency at 7.5 ml NaOH 0.1N/kg and the lowest honey acidity from forest honey (multifloral honey) from Banjar Regency was 1.83 ml NaOH 0.1N/kg.This shows that the diversity of vegetation as a source of nectar affects the acidity of honey.
The acidity of A. mellifera monofloral honey was higher than that of A. dorsata bee multifloral honey.This indicates that differences in bee species have an effect on the acidity of honey.All honey samples have acidity that meets the honey quality requirements of SNI 8664-2018, namely a maximum 1315 (2024) 012065 IOP Publishing doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1315/1/0120655 % of 50 ml of 0.1N NaOH/kg.This research is in line with [36], the acidity level of 5 forest honey (multifloral honey) from various locations has acidity that meets SNI 8664-2018 standards).The acidity of honey is influenced by the free acid content, acidic minerals and amino acids in honey [37], biophysical conditions, honey maturity, climate, processing, and storage methods [38].

Reducing sugar
Sugar content in honey as a parameter of honey quality [1].Sugar content affects the physico-chemical properties of honey [39].The most dominant types of sugar found in honey are glucose and fructose [40].The results of the analysis show that the reducing sugar content of honey ranges from 79.03 to 94.88% (Figure 5).The sugar content in honey from the 8 honey samples varies greatly, this is due to differences in the source of nectar at the honey harvesting location.All monofloral and multifloral honey samples have sugar content according to SNI 8664-2018 honey quality standards (minimum 65%).This shows that the honey is of good quality.The reducing sugar content of A. dorsata multifloral honey was higher than that of A. mellifera bee monofloral honey.This shows that the type of bee affects the sugar content in honey.This research is in line with [37] that bee species affect the sugar content in honey.Likewise, Adityarini [20] stated that the sugar content in honey is influenced by the type of bee and the source of the nectar.Several factors affect the levels of reducing sugars in honey, including water content, humidity and maturity of honey [27].according to SNI 8664-2018 standards, namely a maximum of 50 mg/kg (Figure 6).This indicates that the honey has not undergone a long storage process and has not undergone a heating process.Freshly harvested honey contains HMF although in relatively small amounts at levels of around 0.06 to 0.2 mg/100 mg of honey [41].MHF levels in honey can continue to increase during storage [42].

Conclusion
All samples of monofloral honey from A. mellifera bees and multifloral honey from A. dorsata met SNI 8664-2018 standards in terms of reducing sugar, HMF and acidity parameters.A total of one sample of honey from eight honey that has a water content that meets SNI standards.Monofloral and multifloral honey are acidic with a honey pH value of 3.5 to 4.5.Monofloral honey is colored extra light amber to dark amber and multifloral honey is colored light amber to amber.There are differences in the physico-chemical characteristics of monofloral honey and multifloral honey.

Picture 1 .
Moisture content of monofloral honey and multifloral honey

Picture 2 .
Color intensity value of monofloral honey and multifloral honey

Picture 3 .
pH of monofloral honey and multifloral honey

Picture 4 .
The acidity of monofloral honey and multifloral honey

Picture 5 .
Reducing sugar content of monofloral honey and multifloral honey 3.6.Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) HMF levels are an indicator of the freshness of honey, the duration of storage and the heating process in honey ([8].The results of the analysis showed that the HMF content of monofloral honey was 0.47 to 0.64 mg/kg while that of multifloral honey was 0.43 to 0.55 mg/kg.All honey samples met HMF levels IOP Publishing doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1315/1/0120656 MG/KG

Picture 6 .
HMF levels of monofloral honey and multifloral honey