Fecha de publicación: -- Fuente: PubMed "honey" Food Chem. 2026 Nov 1;533(Pt 1):151842. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2026.151842. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTPremature honey harvesting followed by thermal concentration is a common practice in the industry to reduce honey moisture, although its effects on quality are not well understood. This study compared three production pathways of acacia honey: immature honey (IMH) from two-box hives, thermally concentrated honey (TH) derived from IMH, and naturally matured honey (MH) from multi-box hives. A 60-day independent trial was conducted to monitor in-hive maturation processes. Analysis using UHPLC-MS/MS revealed that MH had significantly lower moisture levels and sucrose content. Crucially, 5-HMF was exclusively detected in TH, while MH showed elevated fructose, proline, and diastase activity, along with an enrichment of chrysin and caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE). The dynamic analysis pinpointed Days 15-30 as the optimal harvesting window. These findings highlight that prolonged in-hive maturation leads to superior quality compared to post-harvest thermal processing, providing a scientific rationale for optimizing the harvesting process.PMID:42981947 | DOI:10.1016/j.foodchem.2026.151842