Work

Kynurenic acid: A potential characteristic marker of Rhus chinensis Mill. honey

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Screening for characteristic markers of honey is an effective approach to assessing the authenticity of honey, however, as a high-economic valuable honey, the characteristic markers of Rhus chinensis Mill. honey (RCMH) have not been adequately elucidated. Here, kynurenic acid was identified as a potential characteristic marker of RCMH by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF-MS). Subsequently, we developed a quantitative method based on high performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector (HPLC-DAD) that exclusively quantified kynurenic acid in honey with high sensitivity (LOD of 0.08 μg/mL), high precision (RSD<4 %) and good recovery (95.71 %∼103.06 %), allowing the analysis to be completed in 10 min. Quantitative analysis of all 55 RCMHs revealed a mean kynurenic acid content of 79.00 mg/kg, exceeding that of most honey varieties. And despite high kynurenic acid in chestnut honey, its lack of lumichrome makes the combination a definitive marker to differentiate RCMH. The stability tests demonstrated that kynurenic acid was chemically stable, proving it suitable for use as a characteristic marker. Our study identified kynurenic acid as a potential characteristic marker of RCMH and developed a method for its quantification, providing a theoretical basis for the authenticity assessment and quality control of RCMH.

Source: Journal of Food Composition and Analysis

DOI: 10.1016/j.jfca.2025.108777

Authors: Congcong Lin, Chiqing Chen, Yiwen Liu, Rui Liu, Qun Lu

Institution: Huazhong Agricultural University

Language: English

Topic: Bee Products Chemical Analysis

Subfield: Insect Science

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Zero hunger

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,450