Proteomic Analysis of Honey: Peptide Profiling as a Novel Approach for New Zealand Manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) Honey Authentication.

New Zealand manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) honey is a premium food product. Unfortunately, its high demand has led to "not true to label" marketed manuka honey. Robust methods are therefore required to determine authenticity. We previously identified three unique nectar-derived proteins in manuka honey, detected as twelve tryptic peptide markers, and hypothesized these could be used to determine authenticity. We invoked a targeted proteomic approach based on parallel reaction-monitoring (PRM) to selectively monitor relative abundance of these peptides in sixteen manuka and twenty six non-manuka honey samples of various floral origin. We included six tryptic peptide markers derived from three bee-derived major royal jelly proteins as potential internal standards. The twelve manuka-specific tryptic peptide markers were present in all manuka honeys with minor regional variation. By comparison, they had negligible presence in non-manuka honeys. Bee-derived peptides were detected in all honeys with similar relative abundance but with sufficient variation precluding their utility as internal standards. Manuka honeys displayed an inverse relationship between total protein content and the ratio between nectar- to bee-derived peptide abundance. This trend reveals an association between protein content on possible nectar processing time by bees. Overall, these findings demonstrate the first successful application of peptide profiling as an alternative and potentially more robust approach for manuka honey authentication.

Proteomic analysis of honey. Identification of unique peptide markers for authentication of NZ manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) honey.

Proteomics is an emerging tool in food authentication that has not been optimised for honey analysis. In this study, we present a qualitative proteomic analysis of New Zealand manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) honey. A total of fifty bee-derived proteins were identified in the honey, the most predominant being major royal jelly proteins (MRJPs). We also demonstrate for the first time the presence of unique nectar-derived proteins in manuka honey. A total of 17 manuka plant proteins were identified, a-third of which were putative pathogenesis-related proteins. Two proteins involved in drought tolerance were also identified. Twelve candidate peptides were selected as potential authentication markers based on their uniqueness to manuka honey. Nectar analyses confirmed the origin and specificity of these peptides to L. scoparium nectar, thus presenting peptide profiling as a viable and novel approach for manuka honey authentication. Raw data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD021730.

Utility of the Leptospermum scoparium Compound Lepteridine as a Chemical Marker for Manuka Honey Authenticity.

Manuka honey is a premium food product with unique antimicrobial bioactivity. Concerns with mislabeled manuka honey require robust assays to determine authenticity. Lepteridine is a Leptospermum-specific fluorescent molecule with potential as an authenticity marker. We describe a mass spectrometry-based assay to measure lepteridine based on an isotopically labeled lepteridine standard. Using this assay, lepteridine concentrations in manuka honey samples strongly correlated with concentrations quantitated by either high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet (HPLC-UV) or fluorescence. A derived minimum lepteridine threshold concentration was compared with the New Zealand regulatory definition for manuka honey to determine "manuka honey" authenticity on a set of commercial samples. Both methods effectively distinguished manuka honey from non-manuka honeys. The regulatory definition excludes lepteridine but otherwise includes the quantification of multiple floral markers together with pollen analysis. Our findings suggest that the quantification of lepteridine alone or in combination with leptosperin could be implemented as an effective screening method to identify manuka honey, likely to achieve an outcome similar to the regulatory definition.

New approach: Chemical and fluorescence profiling of NZ honeys.

New Zealand manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) and kanuka (Kunzea ericoides) honeys contain a unique array of chemical markers useful for chemical fingerprinting. We investigated the presence of 13 potential marker compounds in nectars of the major honey crop species. We confirmed that leptosperin, lepteridine, 2'-methoxyacetophenone, and 2-methoxybenzoic acid are exclusive to manuka nectar whereas lumichrome is unique to kanuka nectar. 3-Phenyllactic acid and 4-hydroxyphenyllactic acid are present in manuka and kanuka nectars. Leptosperin, lepteridine, 3-phenyllactic acid, and 4-hydroxyphenyllactic acid are chemically stable over prolonged storage, but not 2-methoxybenzoic acid and 2'-methoxyacetophenone. Accordingly, leptosperin and lepteridine are definitive chemical markers for authentication of manuka honey. An optimal concentration cut-off was established for the floral source-specific markers: leptosperin (94mg/kg), lepteridine (2.1mg/kg), 2'-methoxyacetophenone (2.0mg/kg) for manuka honey, and lumichrome (4.5mg/kg) for kanuka honey. The use of leptosperin and lepteridine as fluorescence markers for manuka honey authentication is reinforced.

Leptosperin is a distinct and detectable fluorophore in Leptospermum honeys.

New Zealand manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) honey exhibits two unique fluorescence signatures that distinguish it from other honey types. One of these is the MM1 fluorescence marker (270-365nm excitation-emission) which we show is due to a Leptospermum nectar-derived compound, leptosperin. Synthetic or honey-purified leptosperin not only displayed an identical fluorescence spectrum, but supplementation of leptosperin into clover or artificial honeys generated the MM1 fluorescence signature. There was a quenching effect of the honey matrix on leptosperin fluorescence but otherwise leptosperin was chemically stable over prolonged storage at 37°C. Leptosperin was also present in the woody-fruited Australian Leptospermum species at elevated concentrations but virtually absent in Leptospermum subtenue suggesting its elevated expression developed following the mid-Miocene separation of the genus. These findings suggest that fluorescence spectroscopy could offer a rapid and high-throughput screening method for identification of Leptospermum honeys using the MM1 fluorescence marker.

Fluorescence markers in some New Zealand honeys.

The fluorescence characteristics of various New Zealand honeys were investigated to establish if this technique might detect signatures unique to manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) and kanuka (Kunzea ericoides) honeys. We found unique fluorescence profiles for these honeys which distinguished them from other New Zealand honey floral types. Two excitation-emission (ex-em) marker wavelengths each for manuka and kanuka honeys were identified; manuka honey at 270-365 (MM1) and 330-470 (MM2) nm and kanuka honey at 275-305 (KM1) and 445-525 (KM2) nm. Dilution of manuka and kanuka honeys with other honey types that did not possess these fluorescence profiles resulted in a proportional reduction in fluorescence signal of the honeys at the marker wavelengths. By comparison, rewarewa (Knightia excelsa), kamahi (Weinmannia racemosa), and clover (Trifolium spp.) honeys did not exhibit unique fluorescence patterns. These findings suggests that a fluorescence-based screening approach has potential utility for determining the monoflorality status of manuka and kanuka honeys.