Pollen Analysis (Melissopalynology)
Lexikon
Pollen analysis, also known technically as melissopalynology, is a microscopic examination method used to verify the botanical and geographic origin of honey.
Pollen analysis, also known technically as melissopalynology, is a microscopic examination method used to verify the botanical and geographic origin of honey. Because bees inadvertently pick up tiny pollen grains while collecting nectar, and these remain in the honey, the pollen spectrum of a honey documents which plants the bees actually visited, and can therefore be used as evidence for varietal and origin claims.
For the examination, a honey sample is dissolved in water, the pollen it contains is separated out by centrifuging and applied as a thin sediment on a microscope slide. Under the microscope, several hundred pollen grains are then counted at high magnification and assigned to their respective plant species, so that in the end the percentage shares of the individual pollen types in the honey are obtained. Besides pure pollen identification, other components can also be recognized under the microscope, such as characteristic elements of honeydew honey or yeasts that may indicate incipient fermentation.
For beekeepers and testing laboratories, pollen analysis is an important tool for confirming or disproving varietal names such as rapeseed honey or lime honey as well as regional origin claims. A common misunderstanding is to conclude directly and without further ado from the pure pollen share to the actual share of that plant in the nectar flow, because different plant species produce very different amounts of pollen, which is why experts always assess the results of pollen analysis together with sensory and physicochemical characteristics.