# Physicochemical Characterization and Antioxidant Activity of Jara Honey Produced in Western Georgia
## 1 Introduction  
Honey is the most recognized and famous natural food produced by bees (_Apis mellifera_) from nectar and honeydew [1]. Its historical, cultural, and economic significance makes it the major bekeeping product [2]. Honey is an aromatic, sweet natural product with high nutritional value that has been used by humans since time immernorial [3]. Due to its taste and nutritional value, honey has been commonly consumed as a food for thousands of years [4]. It is used as a component in the food industry [5] and also serves as a food preservative [4, 6]. Moreover, honey is also used in medicine [7] and in the production of cosmetics [8] due to the numerous positive properties that can be attributed to the various bioactive molecules it contains [2]. Honey has a very complex composition [1]. It contains more than 200 compounds [5]. It is mainly composed of sugars (70-80%) [9], namely 38% fructose, 31% glucose, 10% other sugar types [10], and water (10-20%) [10]. The uniqueness of this food product resides in the rich spectrum of compounds that do not make up the bulk of the mass. For instance, honey also contains proteins, organic acids (such as acetic acid and gluconic acid, etc.) [5], lipids, carotenoids, minerals [11], and enzymes [9, 12]. More importantly, bioactive components that are crucial in determining the specific and individual characteristics of honey, such as flavonoids, phenolic acids, and vitamins (asocribot acid, niacin, etc. ), are also present in minor quantities [11, 13, 14, 15]. Honey can originate from single or multiple plant species [16]. Accordingly, many different types of honey are available on the global market. Following its origin, honey is divided into blossom, honeyde, monofloral, and multifocal varieties based on the source of the honey [16, 17, 18, 19]. Although Georgia is a small country, it is a very important region for the development of bebekeeping, where it is possible to produce high-quality honey of various origins [20]. In this regard, the uniqueness of Georgia is determined by its geographical location, climatic conditions, and rich and varied vegetation [21; 22]. Georgia mainly produces five types of honey in large quantities. These are acacia honey, blossom honey, alpine honey, linden honey, and chestnut honey [23]. In Georgia, we also have traditional Georgian semi-wild Jara beekeeping. Jara honey is produced in the alpine and sub-alpine forest zones of the high mountains of Adjara, which are distinguished by the variety of honey plants [21]. A Jara is a hollowed log cut in two. It is mainly carved from the linden tree (_Tilia beginifolia Steven_), which is chosen for its light weight and lack of specific smell to avoid disturbing the bees [15; 21; 24]. The Jara is positioned on trees in the forest, and beekeepers no longer interfere in the development of the bee colony, allowing for the completely natural and unmanaged production of Jara honey. There is also no resource management for honey bees. Pesticides and antibiotics are also not used [25]. Although beekeepers in Georgia typically use artificial hives, the bees created their hives (without human intervention) during the production of Jara honey. The obtained honey is matured in natural pine. Jara honey is collected once a year, at the beginning of autumn [21; 22]. It should be mentioned that only the Adjara region of Georgia produces Jara honey. Its cost is consistently two to three times greater compared to the price of other Georgian honey. The \"Kakhetian Traditional Winemaking\" enterprise collects Jara honey ([[https://ktwshop.ge/en/27-honey](https://ktwshop.ge/en/27-honey)]([https://ktwshop.ge/en/27-honey](https://ktwshop.ge/en/27-honey)), accessed on 15 July 2024). It is also worth noting that the flowering of honey plants in the highlands of Adjara is preceded by the flowering of the rhododendron, which contains a toxin, in cold and late spring conditions.