Orientador(es)
Resumo(s)
Monofloral honeys (such as, lavender honey) are highly appreciated by the consumers due to their
flavour, taste and properties. However, since they are considered prime products, they are often targets of
adulteration. This work exploits DNA barcoding combined with high resolution melting (HRM) analysis
to establish the botanical origin of honey, using lavender honey as a case study. The plastidial matK gene
was targeted as a candidate barcode for Lavandula species identification. The method allowed differentiating
the species in three clusters with confidence levels >99%, being the results well correlated with
the sequencing analysis. It was successfully applied to identify the botanical origin of several lavender
honeys, which were grouped in the cluster of the most common species in Portugal (L. stoechas subsp.,
L. penduculata and L. viridis). The proposed method represents a simple, specific and cost-effective tool to
authenticate the botanical origin of honey.
Descrição
Palavras-chave
Authenticity HRM analysis Lavandula species Lavender honey MatK gene Species differentiation
Contexto Educativo
Citação
Soares, Sónia; Grazina, Liliana; Costa, Joana; Amaral, Joana S.; Oliveira, Maria B.P.P.; Mafra, Isabel (2018). Botanical authentication of lavender (Lavandula spp.) honey by a novel DNA-barcoding approach coupled to high resolution melting analysis. Food Control. ISSN 0956-7135. 86, p. 367-373