Melissopalynological origin determination and volatile composition analysis of Corsican “Erica arborea spring maquis” honeys

Melissopalynology and volatiles’ analysis are applied for origin identification of 45 Corsican “spring maquis” honeys, regionally representative of this Protected Denomination of Origin “Miel de Corse–Mele di Corsica” range. They are dominated by Erica arborea pollens. Studies of statistical distribution, biogeographical typology and altitudinal distribution of the 50 characteristic taxa certify the Corsican origin of these honeys. The volatile fraction extracted by headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) from Corsican E. arborea flowers was dominated by octen-3-ol, (E)-β-ocimene and (Z)-β-ocimene whereas 4-propylanisol, p-anisaldehyde, benzaldehyde and 3-furaldehyde were identified as the main volatile components of Corsican honeys. Taking into account the volatile fraction and melissopalynological and physicochemical data, cluster analysis and principal component analysis highlighted the correlation between the relative frequency of E. arborea pollens, the total peak areas of spring maquis honeys and the amounts of p-anisaldehyde and 4-propylanisol.