Radical scavenging activity of different floral origin honey and beebread phenolic extracts

Phenolic extracts were isolated from 35 honey and nine beebread samples obtained from different sources in Lithuania by using Amberlite XAD-2 resin. The antioxidant properties of extracts were assessed by the ABTS+ radical cation decolourisation and DPPH radical scavenging activity. It was found that all honey and beebread extracts were able to scavenge free radicals, however their scavenging activity varied in a wide range, on average between 43.0% and 95.7%. The preliminary screening of phenolic compounds in honey samples was performed by high-performance liquid chromatography with UV and mass spectrometer detectors. The results obtained showed that all samples contain p-coumaric acid, kaempferol, chrysin and apigenin. This study demonstrates remarkable variations in antioxidant properties and content of phenolic compounds in honey from different sources; these variations should be considered in using honey as a source of natural dietary antioxidants.