ABSTRACT:
This work attempted to debunk the common belief that commercially available honey brands in India have sucrose content above the permitted level of 5% as per Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) guidelines and to authenticate and analyze the possibility of adulteration in selected Indian honey brand samples through comparative sugar profiling using High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC). In total, six Indian honey brand samples (H1 to H6) were analyzed under physicochemical analysis and purity tests to check the presence of reducing sugars, artificial sugars, starch, dextrin, azo dyes, chloride, sulphate, along with other parameters such as specific gravity, ash value, and pH. A novel HPTLC method for quantitative estimation of fructose, glucose, sucrose, and maltose using multilevel calibration curves was developed. All samples passed qualitative tests for purity and adulteration. Crucially, the absence or presence in trace amount of sucrose (maximum 1.441% in H2) proved that none of the samples had sucrose content beyond the permitted 5% limit and thus busted the myth that honey brands in India are adulterated above the FSSAI limit. Nonetheless, sugar profiling using HPTLC showed that three samples (H3 and H4) was deficient in total reducing sugars content (minimum required level- 65%). Furthermore, fructose to glucose ratios for all the samples were less than 0.95 and indicated probable adulteration with glucose or invert syrup. Glucose content in samples ranged from 45.92 to 68.60%, whereas fructose ranged from 31.32 to 52.36%. Maltose was either not detected or present in traces (=0.347%). All the calibration curves showed good linearity with R² >0.99 and coefficient of variations of 2–5%. While it was confirmed that sucrose levels in Indian honey samples did not cross the limit, yet another form of adulteration, that is, a low fructose to glucose ratio and inadequate reducing sugar content, was identified.