Scholarlink

<p>Heather honey is an important honey type produced in the UK, valued for its unique flavour, thixotropic texture and health-promoting properties. Botanical authentication can be challenging due to the natural variability in honey composition and typical pollen analysis relies heavily on expert knowledge. As an alternative, real-time PCR (qPCR) can be a rapid and robust method to identify floral species in honey. In this work, species-specific markers for <i>Calluna vulgaris</i> and <i>Erica cinerea</i> were developed and used to quantify 266 honey samples relative to the plant <i>trnL</i> P6 loop. The method classed 96% of 234 heather honeys as containing &gt; 3% heather DNA, with 68% classified as dominant (&gt; 45%) for ling heather origin. Moreover, high specificity was achieved with negligible amplification in the 32 non-heather honeys. Our qPCR method offered comparable results to melissopalynology, DNA metabarcoding, and digital PCR, showing potential as an alternative and accessible method for botanical authentication of heather honeys.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Tracing the botanical origins of UK heather honey by relative quantification of plant DNA

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2025年9月30日

查看全文
  • Sophie Dodd,
  • Zoltan Kevei,
  • Zahra Karimi,
  • Jane Jennifer Suresh Kumar,
  • Anastasios Koidis,
  • Maria Anastasiadi

摘要

Heather honey is an important honey type produced in the UK, valued for its unique flavour, thixotropic texture and health-promoting properties. Botanical authentication can be challenging due to the natural variability in honey composition and typical pollen analysis relies heavily on expert knowledge. As an alternative, real-time PCR (qPCR) can be a rapid and robust method to identify floral species in honey. In this work, species-specific markers for Calluna vulgaris and Erica cinerea were developed and used to quantify 266 honey samples relative to the plant trnL P6 loop. The method classed 96% of 234 heather honeys as containing > 3% heather DNA, with 68% classified as dominant (> 45%) for ling heather origin. Moreover, high specificity was achieved with negligible amplification in the 32 non-heather honeys. Our qPCR method offered comparable results to melissopalynology, DNA metabarcoding, and digital PCR, showing potential as an alternative and accessible method for botanical authentication of heather honeys.