Influence of Caatinga honey floral origin on fermentation performance, chemical composition, and bioactive profile of mead.

Honeys from the Caatinga biome exhibit diverse composition, which may be a key determinant for mead quality and diversity. This investigates the influence of floral origin on the fermentation performance, chemical composition, and antioxidant properties of meads. Five honey samples, including monofloral and polyfloral types, were characterised via melissopalynological analysis and fermented in 3 L glass bioreactors using S. cerevisiae (4.5 × 105 cells/mL) at 20 °C for 24 days. Honey quality was assessed through physicochemical parameters, sugar profiles, and colour, while meads were analysed for phenolic compounds, sugars, organic acids, and alcohols using HPLC. Antioxidant activity was evaluated using DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP assays. Floral origin influenced fermentation kinetics, yeast viability, and the bioactive composition of meads. Monofloral M1 (jurema-preta) and M5 (malícia) yielded meads with the highest phenolic and antioxidant potential, whereas M2 (polyfloral) achieved superior ethanol content. The findings paves the way for developing alcoholic beverages using Caatinga honeys.