A modified FOX-1 method for Micro-determination of hydrogen peroxide in honey samples

Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) is a major antibacterial activity-associated biomarker in honey. Measurement of endogenous H₂O₂ in honey is of great value in prediction of the H₂O₂-depended antibacterial activity and characterization or selection of honey samples for their use as an antibacterial agent or natural food preservative. Considering current methods for H₂O₂ determination are either time-consuming or complicated with their high-cost, a study was conducted to modify and validate the spectrophotometry-based ferrous oxidation-xylenol orange (FOX-1) method for micro-determination of H₂O₂ in honey samples. The result suggested that the proposed FOX-1 method is fast, sensitive, precise and repeatable. The method was successfully applied for the analysis of a total of 35 honey samples from 5 floral origins and 33 geographical origins. The proposed method is low-cost and easy-to-run, and it can be considered by researchers and industry for routine analysis.