# Analysis of the Naturally Aged Scented Components of [PERSON]'s _House of Hope_
## 3 Results
### Binders  
Figure 8 shows the ATR-FTIR spectra of the seven potential binders analyzed in this study. It was reported that [PERSON] used honey to make the beads [7], so two types were analyzed: two made from flower nectar, Honey I and Honey II, and one made from \"hon-eydew\", or aphid secretions: pine honey. Several other potential binders, including agave, maple syrup, corn syrup, and glycerin were added to see if they could be differentiated from one another and whether any compared well with the spectra of the beads. Figure 8 highlights that the spectra for these liquids had similarities to each other, though there were distinct differences in the spectral region between 1500 and 750 cm\({}^{-1}\), which was associated with the absorption of monosaccharides (e.g., fructose and glucose) and disaccharides (e.g., sucrose) [34]. Apart from differences in the peak profile between 1100 and 1050 cm\({}^{-1}\), attributed to the C-O stretching vibration in carbohydrates indicating varied sugar compo \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline
**Bead** & \
\begin{tabular}{c} **Herbs and Spices Positively Identified** \\ **[Chemical, (Elution Time [min])]** \\ \end{tabular} &
\begin{tabular}{c} **Unassigned Compounds** \\ **[Chemical, (Elution Time [min])]** \\ \end{tabular} \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Red-brown} & Peppermint (14.5) & \\  & Nutmeg (14.6) & \\  & Ginger (18.8) & \\  & Turmeric (21.2) & \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Yellow-brown} & Peppermint (14.5) & \\  & Nutmeg (14.6) & Maltol (13.4) \\ \cline{1-1}  & Thyme (16.2) & \(\beta\)-bisabolene (19.2) \\ \cline{1-1}  & Ginger (18.8) & \\ \cline{1-1}  & Turmeric (21.2) & \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 4: _Cont._sition [35; 36; 37], the vibration area of 950-750 cm\({}^{-1}\), associated with the anomeric region of carbohydrates, can be used to differentiate between certain natural sweeteners [38]. The three honey types and agave syrup had characteristic peaks at 920, 870, 820, and 780 cm\({}^{-1}\), which was attributed to C-H and C-C deformation vibrations in carbohydrates [38]. These four peaks were absent in the corn syrup, glycerin, and map syrup controls. The five bead types showed all four of these characteristic peaks, indicating that the binder was likely a honey or agave syrup. However, due to the inclusion of other carbohydrate-based materials within the beads (i.e., herbs and spices), ATR-FTIR could not determine specifically which material was used as a binder. Figure 9 shows the HS-SPME-GCMS spectra for potential binders. A comparison between the chromatograms from the beads with Honey I and Honey II led to the conclusion that nectar honey was not used to make the beads: the largest peak by area for Honey I was at 12.7 min, which was interpreted to be _trans_-linaloid oxide, a common honey compound [39] that was not seen in the beads. Honey II also showed the presence of _trans_-linaloid oxide; however, its largest peak by area at 14.5 min was interpreted to be endo-borneol, which was likewise not observed in the chromatograms for the beads. VOCs from the agave, corn, and map syrups were not similar to the VOCs observed in the beads either. Chromatograms showed that all the beads contained glycerin (11.4 min). This initially led to the conclusion that the beads were bound with glycerin. However, the control glycerin chromatogram only exhibited a large glycerin peak, and the remaining peaks in the chromatogram, at 13.3, 15.9, and 18.2 min, belonged to siloxanes from the GC column. By contrast, the beads showed the presence of other compounds, including esters 3-hydroxy-22,4-trimethylpentyl isobutyrate and 2,2,4-trimethyl-1,3 pentanediol disobutyrate, at 17.1 and 17.4 min, respectively, that were not seen in the glycerin and were not associated with any spice. A comparison of the bead chromatograms with pine honey was conducted next. This honey is different from nectar honey, as bees are prevented from feeding on flowers. Instead, they are sequestered in pine forests, where they feed off the \"honeydew,\" or excrement of tree aphids [40; 41; 42].