Correlative Research Regarding The Total Polyphenolic Content, Antioxidant And Antibacterial Activity Of Three Types Of Romanian Honey

Knowledge of biologically active potential of honey has made significant progress in the last decade, due to the diversification and improvement of the analysis methods regarding the content in various functional compounds. The aim of this study was to evaluate the total polyphenolic content and the antioxidant and antibacterial potential of some honey samples, establishing the correlations between the values of the examined parameters. The investigations were carried out on 7 samples of honey and their botanical origin was determined through melissopalynogical analysis. The samples belonged to the following types of honey: multifloral honey (no=4), lime tree honey (no=2), rapeseed honey (no=1). The total polyphenolic content was determined by Folin-Ciocalteu method and the antioxidant activity by DPPH radical scavenging method. The antibacterial activity was tested on 3 bacterial strains: Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus and Enterococcus faecalis. The results showed a positive correlation between the investigated parameters. For instance, one sample of multifloral honey recorded the highest total polyphenolic content (274.65 +/- 1.85mg GAE/100g honey), correlated with the highest levels of antioxidant (12.30 +/- 0.43 mmol Trolox/100 g honey) and strong antibacterial activity.