{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,17]],"date-time":"2026-07-17T03:14:40Z","timestamp":1784258080302,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,29]],"date-time":"2026-04-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1777420800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100013209","name":"3rd Call for H.F.R.I.\u2019s Research Projects to Support Faculty Members & Researchers","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["26387"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["26387"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100013209","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Foods"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The present study aimed to investigate whether Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy could be effectively applied for the botanical origin confirmation of monofloral (fir, thyme, pine) and flower\/polyfloral (flower, citrus, asfaka, and mixtures) honey in accordance with melissopalynological analysis, and to unveil the adulteration of monofloral honey with flower\/polyfloral honey. Fifty-nine samples were subjected first to melissopalynological analysis to record the dominant pollen flora. Afterwards, ATR-FTIR analysis identified the dominant spectral regions of interest. Among them, 3300\u20133200 cm\u22121, 2970\u20132920 cm\u22121, 1730\u20131600 cm\u22121, 1420\u20131410 cm\u22121, 1390\u20131380 cm\u22121, 1380\u20131330 cm\u22121, 1260\u20131225 cm\u22121, 1210\u20131180 cm\u22121, 1150\u20131130 cm\u22121, 1100\u20131010 cm\u22121, and 950\u2013750 cm\u22121 showed a differentiation potential. Pattern recognition [multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA)\/linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and dimension reduction (factor analysis)] techniques resulted in 100% classification of samples by botanical origin, with the most significant factor parameters being the regions of 1730\u20131600 cm\u22121, 1420\u20131410 cm\u22121, and 950\u2013750 cm\u22121, which indicate the presence of water, carbohydrates, ketones, amino acids, and organic acids. Fir, thyme, and pine samples were also adulterated with the batch of flower\/polyfloral honey samples (20% w\/w), and ATR-FTIR, in combination with the aforementioned multivariate techniques, differentiated the adulterated samples from monofloral samples with an overall cross-validation prediction rate of 91.2% based on LDA. ATR-FTIR, when combined with chemometrics, can be a rapid analytical technique for confirming the botanical origin and adulteration of monofloral honey with polyfloral honey, with an error rate below 9%.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/foods15091544","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,29]],"date-time":"2026-04-29T09:46:11Z","timestamp":1777455971000},"page":"1544","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["\u0392otanical Origin Confirmation and Adulteration Testing of Monofloral Honey Using ATR-FTIR Spectroscopy in Combination with Pattern Recognition and Dimension Reduction Techniques"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-8995-6673","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dimitrios G.","family":"Lazaridis","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Food Science & Technology, School of Agricultural Sciences, University of Patras, G. Seferi 2, 30100 Agrinio, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Vassilios K.","family":"Karabagias","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Food Science & Technology, School of Agricultural Sciences, University of Patras, G. Seferi 2, 30100 Agrinio, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sofia","family":"Karabournioti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Attiki Bee Culturing Co.\u2013Alex. Pittas S.A., 9 Protomagias Street, 14568 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3585-9045","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Aris E.","family":"Giannakas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Food Science & Technology, School of Agricultural Sciences, University of Patras, G. Seferi 2, 30100 Agrinio, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3488-2684","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ioannis K.","family":"Karabagias","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Food Science & Technology, School of Agricultural Sciences, University of Patras, G. Seferi 2, 30100 Agrinio, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"European Commission (2014). Directive 2014\/63\/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 amending Council Directive 2001\/110\/EC relating to honey. Off. J. Eur. Comm., L164, 1\u20135."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Palma-Morales, M., Huertas, J.R., and Rodr\u00edguez-P\u00e9rez, C. (2023). A Comprehensive Review of the Effect of Honey on Human Health. 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