Screening of Some Romanian Raw Honeys and Their Probiotic Potential Evaluation

This study aimed to characterize raw honeys from different geographical origins in Romania, in respect of chemical composition, microbiological examination and evaluate their probiotic potential. The physico-chemical determinations were performed in APHIS-DIA Laboratory, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, using standard validated methods. Bacterial identification was performed for each sample and each colony type using Vitek® 2 Compact 15 system and PCR amplification using 16S rDNA bacterial universal primers (27F, 1492R), species being confirm by sequences analysis. In five raw honey samples, we have identified probiotic bacteria, such as: Bacillus mycoides, Bacillus thuringiensis, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, Bacillus subtilis, and Bacillus velezensis. Generally, all honey samples meet the standard values for chemical composition. However, one sample having 7.44% sucrose was found to have also probiotics bacteria from the genus Bacillus because sucrose is a substrate for probiotics development. In conclusion, the Romanian raw honey can be a potential reservoir of probiotics, which confer a health benefit for consumers.