Composition of Honey. VII. Proteins

Abstract

Crude protein preparations from a number of types of floral honey, and from stores of sugar-fed confined bees, have been examined by gel filtration, starch-gel electrophoresis and ion-exchange chromatography. Between 4 and 7 protein components are indicated by gel electrophoresis, with differences among floral types implying the presence of plant protein components. Four components, apparently from the bees, are common to all samples. For four honey samples, 35%-60% of the total nitrogen content passed through the dialysis membrane; hence, the protein content cannot be determined from the nitrogen content of whole honey.