The relationship between the content of Maillard reaction-like products and bioactivity of Canadian honeys

Abstract Honey possesses antioxidant and antibacterial activities; however the compounds that are responsible for these activities are still under investigation. To determine whether there are common features/compounds that underlie the antioxidant and antibacterial activities, 20 Canadian honeys were analysed using the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) and the broth micro-dilutions assay, respectively. Principal component analysis revealed the highest correlation between ORAC and Maillard reaction-like products (MRLP) ( R  = 0.938, p Escherichia coli ( R  = 0.737, p R  = 0.65, p Bacillus subtilis . In conclusion, MRLPs in honey appear to underlie the antioxidant and partially the antibacterial activity against E. coli.