Physical, chemical and palynological characterization of avocado (Persea americana Mill.) honey in Israel

Summary Various methods were used to characterize avocado honey in Israel. Perseitol, a unique sugar present only in avocado honey, served as an indicator for the degree of purity of avocado honey. Low avocado pollen counts made the common melissopalynology method ineffective at predicting the contribution of avocado nectar to honey. It was also found that the levels of fructose, sucrose and glucose do not uniquely characterize avocado honey. Potassium content and eight other minerals were linearly highly correlated to perseitol content. Moreover, pH level, absorbance and degree of darkness were significantly correlated to perseitol content, and can therefore be used to characterize avocado honey.