Apicultura regional: avaliação dos aspectos físico-químicos e polínicos de méis produzidos em áreas do semiárido piauiense

Abstract

Raising Apis mellifera bees is an affordable alternative for producing healthy and sustainable food, providing employment and income for family farmers. Beekeeping helps to diversify the supply of nutritious foods, strengthen family farming and promote economic sustainability. Improving beekeeping requires fundamental knowledge obtained through scientific research and laboratory and field analysis. Thus, the objective of this work was to evaluate, through bibliographic review and laboratory analyses, the socioeconomic potential of beekeeping in the semi-arid region of Piauí, especially the use of regional honey as a food and nutritional alternative. The colorimetric values of the honeys were carried out using UV/Visible spectrophotometric analysis (carry 50) at a wavelength of 550 nm, in which a part of each sample, separately, was placed inside a quartz cuvette, placed in the equipment and The reading was carried out to determine the honey's ability to absorb and emit light, using pure glycerin as a null reference (blank) for the seven samples. The calculation of the HMF content was carried out based on a reading on a UV/Visible spectrophotometer (carry 50), based on the difference between the absorbances of the pure aqueous honey solutions of each sample at wavelength 284 nm and this same solution after addition. of 0.2% sodium bisulfite solution at 336 nm (AOAC, 2000). To identify the pollen types carried out in this work, the direct method was adopted (Maurizio; Louveaux, 1965), without the use of acetolysis, carrying out quantitative analyzes by counting a minimum of 500 pollen grains per sample, followed by determining the occurrence classes , according to Louveaux et al. (1978). The results of the physical-chemical analyzes carried out on honey samples from the semi-arid region of Piauí showed compliance with the standards established by current legislation, without adulterations in the composition of the honey. Pollen analysis indicated that bee production in the semi-arid region of Piauí is composed of a variety of floral sources, suggesting that they are wild honeys. The botanical families Amaranthaceae, Fabaceae caesalpinioideae, Lamiaceae and Rubiaceae were considered extremely relevant in the composition of honeys from the studied municipalities. Beekeeping encompasses goals established by legislation that guide the fundamental rights of humanity, by diversifying the supply of nutritious foods, strengthening regional family farming and emphasizing the interdependence between food policies, sustainable practices and economic prosperity. Therefore, food policies must be reviewed to build more sustainable agricultural systems and guarantee regular and permanent access to safe, quality food.