DAWN SCHOOL
ACADEMIC YEAR 2024-25
INVESTIGATORY PROJECT
ON
ANALYSIS OF HONEY
A M JYOTHSANA
CLASS XII
S.NO TOPIC
1. INTRODUCTION
2. AIM OF THE EXPERIMENT
3. APPARATUS REQUIRED
4. CHEMICAL REQUIRED
5. THEORY
6. PROCEDURE
7. TEST FOR CARBOHYDRATES
8. OBSERVATION TABLE
9. CONCLUSION
10. IMPORTANCE OF HONEY
11. BIBLIOGRAPHY
INTRODUCTION
Honey, sweet, viscous liquid food, dark golden in
colour, produced in the honey sacs of various bees
from the nectar of flowers. Flavour and colour are
determined by the flowers from which the nectar is
gathered. Some of the most commercially desirable
honeys are produced from clover by the domestic
honeybee. The nectar is ripened into honey by
inversion of the major portion of its sucrose sugar
into the sugars levulose (fructose) and dextrose
(glucose) and by the removal of excess moisture.
Honey is stored in the beehive or nest in a
honeycomb, a double layer of uniform hexagonal
cells constructed of beeswax (secreted by the worker
bees) and propolis (a plant resin collected by the
workers). Honeycomb is used in winter as food for
the larvae and other members of the colony. It is
commonly sold by beekeepers as a delicacy, or the
wax may be extracted for various purposes.
Honey contains about 18 percent water, is water
soluble, and may granulate between 50 and 65 °F (10
and 18 °C). Somewhat acid, it has mild antiseptic
properties and has been used in the treatment of
burns and lacerations. One of the most easily
assimilated foods, it is widely used in baked goods,
candies, prepared fruits, cereals, and medicines.
Honey was almost the only source of sugar available
to the ancients and was valued for its medicinal
benefits. It was used to make mead, a fermented
beverage, and was mixed with wine and other
alcoholic drinks. In Egypt it was employed as an
embalming material. In India and other Asian
countries it was used to preserve fruit and make
cakes, sweetmeats, and other foods.
Honey is sweet because of its high concentrations of
the monosaccharides fructose and glucose. It has
about the same relative sweetness as sucrose (table
sugar). One standard tablespoon (15 mL) of honey
provides around 190 kilojoules (46 kilocalories) of
food energy. It has attractive chemical properties for
baking and a distinctive flavor when used as a
sweetener. Most microorganisms cannot grow in
honey and sealed honey therefore does not spoil.
Samples of honey discovered in archaeological
contexts have proven edible even after millennia.
Because of its composition and chemical properties,
honey is suitable for long-term storage, and is easily
assimilated even after long preservation. Honey, and
objects immersed in honey, have been preserved for
centuries. (However, no edible honey has been found
in Egyptian tombs; all such cases have been proven
to be other substances or only chemical traces). The
key to preservation is limiting access to humidity. In
its cured state, honey has a sufficiently high sugar
content to inhibit fermentation. If exposed to moist
air, its hydrophilic properties pull moisture into the
honey, eventually diluting it to the point that
fermentation can begin.
The long shelf life of honey is attributed to an
enzyme found in the stomach of bees. The bees mix
glucose oxidase with expelled nectar they previously
consumed, creating two byproducts – gluconic acid
and hydrogen peroxide, which are partially
responsible for honey acidity and suppression of
bacterial growth.
Honey is sometimes adulterated by the addition of
other sugars, syrups, or compounds to change its
flavor or viscosity, reduce cost, or increase the
fructose content to inhibit crystallization.
Adulteration of honey has been practiced since
ancient times, when honey was sometimes blended
with plant syrups such as maple, birch, or sorghum
and sold to customers as pure honey.
Sometimes crystallized honey was mixed with flour
or other fillers, hiding the adulteration from buyers
until the honey was liquefied. In modern times the
most common adulterant became clear, almost-
flavorless corn syrup; the adulterated mixture can be
very difficult to distinguish from pure honey.
AIM:
To analyse the available honey for presence of
different minerals and carbohydrates.
APPARATUS REQUIRED:
●Test tubes
●Test tube stand
●Burner
●Water Bath
CHEMICALS REQUIRED:
Fehling solution A, Fehling solution B, Ammonium
chloride solution, Ammonium oxalate solution,
Ammonium phosphate, Conc. Nitric acid, Potassium
sulphocyanide solution.
THEORY:
Honey, thick, sweet, super saturated sugar solution
manufactured by bees to feed their larvae and for
the subsistence during winter. Bee honey is
composed of fructose, glucose and water, in varying
proportions. It also contains several enzymes and oils.
The colour & flavor depends on the
age of the honey and the sources of the nectar .It
coloured honeys are usually of higher quality than
dark coloured honeys. Other high grade honeys are
made by bees from orange blossoms, clover and
Alfalfa. A well known, poorer grade honey is
produced from buckwheat. Honey has a fuel value of
about 3307 cal/kg [1520 cal/ lbs]. It readily picks up
moisture from the air and is consequently used as a
moistioning agent for Tobaco and in baking. Glucose
crystallizes out of honey on standing at room
temperature, leaving on uncrystallized layer of
dissolved fructose. Honey to be marketed is usually
heated by a special process to about 66oC [150.01 F]
to dissolve the crystals and is sealed to prevent
crystallization. The fructose in crystallized honey
ferments readily at about 160C.
PROCEDURE:
1.Test for Potassium:
2ml of honey is taken in a test tube and picric acid
solution is added. Yellow precipitate indicates the
presence of K+.
2.Test for Calcium:
2ml of honey is taken in a test tube and NH4Cl
solution and NH4OH solution are added to it. The
solution is filtered and to the filtrate 2ml of
ammonium oxalate solution is added. White ppt. Or
milkiness indicates the presence of Ca2+ ions.
3.Test for Magnesium:
2 ml of honey is taken in a test tube and NH4Cl
solution is added to it and then excess of Ammonium
phospate solution is added. The side of the testtube
is scratched with a glass rod. White precipitate
indicates the presence of Mg2+ ions.
4.Test for Iron:
2ml of honey is taken in a test tube and a drop of
conc. HNO3 is added and it is heated. It is cooled and
2-3 drops of Potassium sulphocyanide solution is
added to it. Blood red colour shows the presence of
iron.
TEST FOR CARBOHYDRATES:
1. Fehling`s test :
2mL of honey is taken in a test tube and 1mL each of
Fehling`s solution A and Fehling`s solution B are
added to it and boiled. Red precipitate indicates the
presence of reducing sugars.
2. Tollen`s test:
2-3 mL of aqueous solution of honey is taken in a test
tube. 2-3mL of Tollen`s reagent is added. The test
tube is kept in a boiling water bath for about ten
minutes. A shining silver mirror indicates the
presence of reducing carbohydrates.
OBSERVATION TABLE:
S.NO TESTS OBSERVATION INFERENCE
1. Test for Potassium:-
Honey+Picric acid
Yellow ppt is observed Potassium is
present.
solution
.
2. Test for Calcium:-
Honey + NH 4 C1 soln. +
White ppt.or milkiness
is not observed
Calcium is absent.
NH 4 OH soln. filtered +
NH 4) 2 C 2 0 4
3. Test for Magnesium:-
Honey+ NH 4 OH (till
White ppt.is not
observed
Magnesium is
absent
solution becomes
alkaline) + (NH 4) 3 Po 4
4. Test for Iron:-
Honey+ conc.HNO 3 ,
Blood red colour is
observed
Iron is present.
heated and cooled,
potassium
sulphocyanide
5. Fehling's test:-
Honey + 1mL each of
Red ppt. is observed Reducing sugar is
present.
Fehling s solution A and
Fehling's solution B
6. Tollen's test:-
Honey + 2-3mL Tollen's
Shining silver mirror is Reducing
observed carbohydrate is
reagent, test tube in present
water bath for 10
minutes
CONCLUSION:
Ø Potassium is present.
Ø Iron is present.
Ø Calcium is absent.
Ø Magnesium is absent.
Ø Honey contains reducing sugar.
IMPORTANCE OF HONEY:
Honey is a sweet fluid made by honeybees using the
nectar of flowering plants. There are about 320
different varieties of honey, which vary in colour,
odour and flavour.
Honey contains mostly sugar, as well as a mix of
amino acids, vitamins, minerals, iron, zinc and
antioxidants. In addition to its use as a natural
sweetener, honey is used as an anti-inflammatory,
antioxidant and antibacterial agent. People
commonly use honey orally to treat coughs and
topically to treat burns and promote wound healing.
Wounds and burns:
Honey is a folk treatment for burns and other skin
injuries. Preliminary evidence suggests that it aids in
the healing of partial thickness burns 4–5 days faster
than other dressings, and moderate evidence
suggests that post-operative infections treated with
honey heal faster and with fewer adverse events
than with antiseptic and gauze.
The evidence for the use of honey in various other
wound treatments is of low quality, and firm
conclusions cannot be drawn. Evidence does not
support the use of honey-based products for the
treatment of venous stasis ulcers or ingrown toenail.
Several medical-grade honey products have been
approved by the FDA for use in treating minor
wounds and burns.
Antibiotic:
Honey has long been used as a topical antibiotic by
practitioners of traditional and herbal medicine.
Honey’s antibacterial effects were first demonstrated
by the Dutch scientist Bernardus Adrianus van Ketel
in 1892. Since then, numerous studies have shown
that honey has broad-spectrum antibacterial activity
against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria,
although potency varies widely between different
honeys. Due to the proliferation of antibiotic-
resistant bacteria in the last few decades, there has
been renewed interest in researching the
antibacterial properties of honey. Components of
honey under preliminary research for potential
antibiotic use include methylglyoxal, hydrogen
peroxide, and royalisin (also called defensin-1).
Cough:
For chronic and acute coughs, a Cochrane review
found no strong evidence for or against the use of
honey. For treating children, the systematic review
concluded with moderate to low evidence that honey
helps more than no treatment, diphenhydramine,
and placebo at giving relief from coughing. Honey
does not appear to work better than
dextromethorphan at relieving coughing in children.
Other reviews have also supported the use of honey
for treating children.
Folk medicine:
In myths and folk medicine, honey was used both
orally and topically to treat various ailments including
gastric disturbances, ulcers, skin wounds, and skin
burns by ancient Greeks and Egyptians, and in
Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine.
Food:
Over its history as a food, the main uses of honey are
in cooking, baking, desserts, as a spread on bread, as
an addition to various beverages such as tea, and as a
sweetener in some commercial beverages.
Due to its energy density, honey is an important food
for virtually all hunter-gatherer cultures in warm
climates, with the Hadza people ranking honey as
their favorite food.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey
https://www.britannica.com/topic/honey
https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/honey-is-
bunny-2/42687674
https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements-
honey/art-
20363819#:~:text=Honey%20contains%20mostly%20
sugar%2C%20as,inflammatory%2C%20antioxidant%2
0and%20antibacterial%20agent.
