A rapid differentiation between oak honeydew honey and nectar and other honeydew honeys by NMR spectroscopy

An NMR-based approach for rapid differentiation of oak honeydew honey from all other honey types (floral and other honeydew honeys) was proposed. It is based on the identification of the signals of the protons and the carbon of the methylene group of quercitol in the 1H and 13C NMR spectra of honey. The presence of quercitol was supported by TOCSY spectroscopy. Quercitol is a deoxyinositol which is regarded as a good taxonomic marker for the genus Quercus. All samples of oak honeydew honey contained quercitol, while in floral honey samples and honeydew honeys from fir and spruce it was absent. In addition, the described approach is promising with respect to quercitol quantification in honey by qNMR.