physicochemical and palynologyc analysis of apis mellifera l. honeybee collected from some eastern and southwestern municipalities of antioquia (colombia)

Abstract

In order to determine the honey quality of the species Apis meliferae subspecies scutellata, from some of the Southwestern and Eastern municipalities of Antioquia Department (Colombia), during 2013 and 2015, physicochemical and palynological studies were made in 18 samples. The physicochemical analysis revealed that all analyzed parameters agreed to the established values of the Colombian laws, with few exceptions. Overall the total honeys samples were considered of good quality and minor variations in the analyzed parameters were attributed to the honeys botanical or geographic origin and also errors in the handling processes.  From the palynological view point, most of the samples from southwestern region were unifloral and the Eastern ones were multifloral; total pollen richness was highly variable in both regions, ranging from very poor to very rich samples. The most common taxon in the Eastern region was Asteraceae, followed by Fabaceae, Solanaceae, Myrtaceae (mainly Eucalyptus), Hypochaeris, Borreria and Hedyosmum and in the Southwest, the most abundant taxa were Coffea arabica and Cecropia agustifolia followed by Mimosa, Fabaceae, Cordia, Mangifera indica and Acalypha.