The Giant Willow Aphid (Tuberolachnus salignus, GWA) is an invasive pest insect in New Zealand, which excretes honeydew. European honeybees collect this honeydew and make it into a type of honey that crystallizes in the comb, representing a significant loss to apiarists. This crystallization has been ascribed to high concentrations of oligosaccharides, particularly melezitose. In this research, the first carbohydrate profile of GWA honeydew honey, a sample of GWA honeydew honey was found to contain 37.8% total oligosaccharides of which 27.4% was melezitose, and 2.5% gluconic acid (higher than typical honeydew honeys); 41.2% monosaccharides (lower than typical honeydew honeys); and 0.054% salicylic acid (higher than previous estimates). Melezitose extracted from GWA honeydew honey was not significantly hydrolyzed in crude human-stomach and human-small-intestine simulations and may therefore meet the prebiotic criterion of human indigestibility.
Keywords: 6-Kestose (PubChem CID: 9914062); Acid hydrolysis; Cellobiose (PubChem CID: 10712); Enzyme hydrolysis; Giant Willow Aphid; HPLC; Honey carbohydrates; Honeydew honey; Maltose (PubChem CID: 6255); Melezitose; Melezitose (PubChem CID: 92817); Prebiotic; Salicylic acid (PubChem CID 338); Sucrose (PubChem CID: 5988); d-Fructose (PubChem CID: 2723872); d-Gluconic acid (PubChem CID: 10690); d-Glucose (PubChem CID 5793).
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