# Physico-Chemical and Melissopalynological Characterization of Czech Honey
## 1 Introduction  
Proclamation of the authenticity of honey is a key step in meeting consumer demands. Honey is a sweetener from which the consumer expects not only its sweet taste, but also other values. Many studies demonstrate that honey is a source of natural antioxidants, an antibiotic, and shows wound healing properties [1]. The honey also enhances the growth of lactic acid bacteria that positively affect liver, cardiovascular and gastrointestinalproblems [2]. Such an additional value can be specific sensory properties, chemical composition, or specific content of bioactive substances, as well as geographical origin. These characteristics are so important for consumers that they are willing to pay a higher price compared to honeys whose characteristic properties are not specific or do not have a clear geographical origin. Specific honeys and honeys with a certain geographical origin can be characterized on the basis of their physico-chemical composition, sensory properties and on the basis of melissopalynological analysis. These parameters can also be used to detect honey adulteration. Mainly, in the case of honey, it is adulterated commonly by starch syrup, inverted syrup, starch or inverted syrup fed to bees and low-quality honey added to high-priced honey [3]. On the other hand, honey has several sources of microbiological and parasitological contamination. Primary sources include pollen, the digestive tracts of honeybees, dust, air, soil, and nectar; secondary sources, such as honey handlers and processing, are easier to control by the application of good manufacturing practices. The major microbiological and parasitological contaminants of honey include molds and yeasts, as well as the spores of _Bacillus_ spp., _Clostridium_ spp., _Escherichia coli_, _Staphylococcus aureus_, _Ascosphaera apis_, _Nosema_ spp., _Aspergillus flavus_, and _Aspergillus fumigatus_[4].  
Honey from various countries can differ from each other, depending on the distance in which they are located, which can also be reflected in the occurrence of completely different botanical taxa that contribute to the sources of nectars, as well as the nature of agricultural activity. The presence of specific taxa in individual regions is used to determine the geographical origin as well as monofloral honeys. In both cases, melissopalynological analysis of specific botanical taxa is particularly important [5; 6]. The characterization of important monofloral honeys within the European region is described in extensive studies [7; 8; 9]. Further characterizations of special or geographically defined honeys are described for some European countries, such as Bulgaria [10], Estonia [11], Canary Islands [12], Poland [13], Portugal [14], Greece [15; 16; 17], Romania [18], Spain [19; 20], and Ireland [21]. However, there are also studies describing honeys from national park sites [22]. For the Czech Republic, the characterization of the composition of honeys has not yet been described.  
The aim of the study is to characterize the physico-chemical properties of honeys and the melissopalynological profile of Czech honeys and their comparison with the published data on European honeys.