Composition of Honey Part 5 - Acids

The Composition of Honey Part 5 - Acids

There are different categories of acids. The category we are referring to is an Aqueous Acid.

Aqueous Arrhenius acids have characteristic properties which provide a practical description of an acid. Acids form aqueous solutions with a sour taste, can turn blue litmus red, and react with bases and certain metals (like calcium) to form salts. The word acid is derived from the Latin acidus/acēre meaning sour.

An aqueous solution of an acid that has a pH less than 7 is referred to as 'acid'. A lower pH means a higher acidity thus meaning that a higher concentration of positive hydrogen ions in the solution exists.



Acids found in Honey are:

2- or 3-phosphoglyceric
a- or B-glycerophosphate
a-ketoglutaric
Acetic
Butyric
Citric
Formic
Gluconic
Glucose-6-phosphate
Lactic
Maleic
Malic
Oxalic
Pyroglutamic
Succinic
Glycollic
Pyruvic
Tartaric

NOTE: Vitamins, Minerals, Trace Elements, Acids, Amino Acids, Enzymes and Lipids only comprise about .5% of the total composition of honey.

SOURCE:

Eva Crane
Honey A Comprehensive Survey
1975
Crane, Russak & Company, Inc.
Library of Congress Catalog No. 72-83309
ISBN: 0-8448-0062-7
Section 2 Characteristics of Honey
Chapter 5 Composition of Honey - Dr. Jonathan W. White, Jr.
Pages 157-206