Abstract:
Honey is a complex mixture of a variety of ingredients. The intent of the current study is to
characterize the physical, chemical and biochemical properties of Nigella honey obtained from
Shariatpur district of Bangladesh and also compare those features with the international standards
set up by Codex, EU and International Honey Commission (IHC) in prospect of export to global
market. The selected physiochemical parameters included, moisture, color, pH, total acidity, free
lactone, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, protein, total sugar and hydroxymethylfurfural
(HMF) content all of which were analyzed using standard laboratory methods. The moisture content
was 18.35%, color identified as dark brown/amber (131mm), pH was 4, total acidity was 42.5
meq/kg, total protein content was 2%, total sugar content was 70%, HMF content was 32.48 mg/kg,
electrical conductivity was found to be 1.2mS/cm and total dissolved solids was 826 ppm. The
overall quality of Nigella honey sample appeared acceptable and matched with international
standards
