Comparative characteristics of mixed herb honey samples collected in different regions of Russia

The aim of the study is a comparative assessment of mixed-herb honey samples collected in different regions of Russia based on organoleptic and physicochemical parameters and determination of the amount of vitamin C in them in order to establish the influence of geographical origin on the content of this vitamin in the studied samples. The objects of the study are mixed-herb honeys produced in the period from 2019 to 2022 in the following regions of Russia: Moscow, Voronezh, Tula, Arkhangelsk, Astrakhan, Volgograd, Rostov and Sverdlovsk, Krasnodar, Stavropol, Altai and Kamchatka Regions; Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, the Republics of Dagestan, Kalmykia and Bashkortostan. Taking into account the regions where beekeeping bases are located, they are conditionally divided into five natural zones: taiga (T), altitudinal zonation zones (AZZ), mixed and broad-leaved forests (MDF), forest-steppe and steppe (FS), semi-desert and desert (SD). The examination of honey for organoleptic and physicochemical parameters was carried out in accordance with GOST 19792-2017, determination of vitamin C - by the titrimetric method of I.K. Murri. Honey samples for organoleptic and physicochemical parameters met the requirements of GOST (honey moisture content varied from 15.2 to 18.2 %; diastase number - from 8.0 to 29.4 Gothe units). The minimum values of the diastase number (8 Gothe units) were recorded for honeys from the semi-desert and desert zones, the maximum (29.4 Gothe units) - for the taiga zone and the altitudinal zonation zone. The amount of vitamin C in the samples varied from 5.1 to 19.7 mg/kg, which is directly related to the zonal growth characteristics of honey plants. The highest amount of vitamin C was contained in honeys obtained in the taiga zone (15.4-18.1 mg/kg) and high-belt zones (13.7-19.7 mg/kg). The geographical origin of honey affected not only the diastase number, but also the vitamin C content.