leptosperin (1)

Manuka honey, harvested from the manuka bush, Leptospermum scoparium, is New Zealand's most recognised honey type and commands a premium due to health‐related benefits. Reverse Phase‐HPLC revealed that manuka honey contains distinct compounds, which were relatively enriched, and not present in the other New Zealand monofloral honeys. These compounds were analysed by mass spectrometry and NMR, and identified as Leptosperin and Lepteridine, which are a methyl syringate glycoside and pteridine derivative, respectively. Examination of these compounds revealed unique fluorescence signatures. This fluorescence could be detected in manuka honey samples, and the signal used to confirm that a honey was solely or predominantly consisted of L. scoparium nectar. 

The chapter is open access at: Manuka honey authenticity by fluorescence

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