# Physicochemical Characterization and Antioxidant Activity of Jara Honey Produced in Western Georgia
## 3 Results and Discussion
### Melissopalynology, or Pollen Analysis  
Honey color, aroma, taste, and therapeutic-prophylactic properties depend on the flower's nectar, and the composition of the latter depends on those entomophilic plants that blossom during the period of honey collection [91]. The biologically active compounds of the plant (flower) are present first in nectar and then in honey, which determine flower biological activity [63; 79; 92]. Several markers are used to determine the botanical origin of honey, among which it is important to determine the morphological structure and concentration of honey pollen. If the honey is obtained entirely or mainly from the nectar of a specific plant or plant flower, it must have physicochemical, organoleptic, and morphological characteristics that are characteristic only of honey obtained from the nectar of a specific plant (monofloral honey) or plant flower (polyfloral honey) [93]. Honey consists of pollen grains collected by honeybees; hence, pollen taxonomy is the prerequisite to compare the pollen present in honey samples with special reference to melissopalynological analysis. The taste, smell, and color of honey change according to the nectar of the flowers [94]. The flower origin of the Jara honey was determined by melissopalynological analysis. Pollen types were identified by comparison with reference slides of pollen collected directly from the plants in the study and reference images of pollen and apicultural plants in the literature [95; 96]. Pollen types were identified by comparison to reference slides of pollen. Pollen grains were identified and quantified by applying microscopy to preparations taken from the honey samples. About 500 pollen grains were counted from each sample. All measurements were repeated to ensure significant precision. The proportion of each type of pollen was calculated as a percentage of total pollen. The pollen concentration in honey is regulated according to European and international standards. According to the pollen content, pollen is divided into four groups: the dominant pollen (more than 45%), secondary pollen (16-45%), significant minor pollen (3-15%), and minor pollen (less than 3%) [68; 69; 97]. In general, honey is considered monofloral if the dominant pollen content exceeds 45%, and if there is no dominant pollen content, the honey is considered polyfloral. However, the number of dominant pollens is different for different kinds of honey; the average rate of dominant pollens is 94.5% for chestnut honey, 38.6% for rhododendron honey, 28.1% for acacia honey, and 22.9% for lime honey, etc. [97; 98]. For the identification of the Jara honey's botanic origin, beekeepers used information about Jara's location. The results of the qualitative pollen analysis indicated the diversity of resources utilized by honeybees in the region of investigation. Pollen analysis of the Jara honey showed that out of 18 analyzed samples, the following were plants were identified: chestnut, _Tilia_, acacia, _Iuglans regia_, _Prunus lauroccrasus_, _Malus domestica_, _Pyrus communis_ L., _Prunus domestica_, _Trifolium pratense_, _Taraxacum_, _Solidago virgaurea_, _Rubus ideaus_, _rhododendron_, and another pollen (Table 8). \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline \hline \multicolumn{5}{c}{**Pollen Types in the Honey Samples (in Percentages)**} \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Samples**} & **Dominant Pollen** & **Secondary Pollen** & **Important Minor Pollen** & **Minor Pollen** \\  & **(-45\%)** & **(16–45\%)** & **(3–15\%)** & **(<3\%)** \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{JH-1} & \multirow{2}{*}{-} & Chestnut—37.6, & _Prunus domestica_—11.2, & _Juglans regia_, _Prunus lauroccrasus_, \\  & & _Tilia platphyllos_—35.7 & _Rubus ideas_—12.6 & Rhododenron \\  & & Acacia—24.2, & _Prunus lauroccrasus_—5.8 & - \\  & & _Trifolium pratense_—20.0 & & Acacia—11.74, & _Prunus lauroccrasus_, _Iuglans regia_, \\  & & _Trifolium pratense_—14.03 & _Tilia platphyllos_—6.0 & and eq.t.