Degradation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural in honey

5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is the most important intermediate product of the acid-catalyzed dehydrationreaction of hexoses and/or Maillard reaction; furthermore, it is the most used index to evaluate thermaldamages or ageing in food products. Usually its degradation reactions, being very slow, are neglected. This study reportsthe findings concerning the degradation kinetics of HMF, in honeys of different floral origin at a temperaturebetween 25 and 50 ◦C. The results highlighted higher degradation rates (kHMF degradation) compared to the correspondingformation rates (kHMF formation) in chestnut and citrus samples. Similar k-values were found in multifloral honey.Moreover, the reaction of HMF degradation was characterized by lower activation energy (Ea) values compared toEa formation values. The final concentration of HMF in honey, during storage at room temperature, should be ascribedto high sugar concentration. The fluctuation ofHMFin honeys could depend on the equilibrium between theaccumulation and the degradation processes. This can affect the validity of HMF as storage index in some honeys,above all during the analysis of those honeyswhose legislation is too restrictive (citrus) or in chestnut honey analysiswhere it does not accumulate.