GC-MS Profiling and Antioxidant Activity of Bioactive constituents in Polyfloral Honey from Indigenous Apis cerana indica Colonies
Kavya H and Shrishail
Department of Applied Botany, Jnana Sahyadri, Kuvempu University, Shankarghatta, Shimoga - 577451 (India) Correspondence: Kavya H Research Student Department of PG studies and research in Applied Botany, Jnana Sahyadri, Shankarghatta, Shivamogga - 577451 (India) Phone no: 8217651247. Email: kavyahanumanthaiah@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Honey is a nutritionally rich sweetener produced by honeybees, contains wide spectrum of phytochemicals of known health benefits. The present study aimed to investigate the phytochemical composition and antioxidant potential of polyfloral honey produced by domesticated Apis cerana indica colonies also known as Indian bee from the Western Ghats, Karnataka. Ethyl acetate solvent extracted honey samples were analyzed using Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry to identify volatile and semi volatile bioactive constituents. A total of ten compounds were identified, including phytol, palmitic acid vinyl ester, and eicosanoic acid derivatives, with palmitic acid vinyl ester and octadecanoic acid derivatives acquiring prominent peak area. The presence of bioactive phytocompounds enhances the nutraceutical richness of polyfloral honey, encouraging its inclusion in an individual diet. The in vitro antioxidant activity, evaluated using DPPH assay, demonstrated considerable free radical scavenging ability (IC50 = 171.90±1.58 µg/mL). These findings support the use of Apis cerana indica honey as a natural dietary antioxidant source. Furthermore, extensive research is required to correlate the specific floral source to specific honey origin to use GCMS as biomarker for honey identification and authentication.