Unveiling the phytochemical profiles of Ziziphus jujuba honey: An authenticity assurance approach

Ziziphus jujuba (jujube) honey, as a significantly agricultural product, faces persistent challenges in quality control due to the absence of reliable authentication techniques against adulteration. The research systematically identified and quantified phytochemicals using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS). We identified and quantified 13 phytochemicals in the jujube honey samples, including 5 terpenoids, 4 phenolamides, 3 quinolines and 1 indole. Notably, four novel chemical markers were identified: 4-hydroxy-8-methoxyquinoline, vomifoliol, indole-3-carboxaldehyde, and jujubin ((E)-4-(2,3-dihydroxybutylidene)-3,5,5-trimethylcyclohex-2-en-1-one) can be regarded as the characteristic markers of jujube honey, with the average content of 10.25, 1.28, 1.87, and 0.58 mg/kg, respectively. To our knowledge, 4-hydroxy-8-methoxyquinoline, indole-3-carboxaldehyde, and jujubin are newly identified in honey products. Furthermore, the developed authentication methodology integrates quantitative analysis of these characteristic markers with HPLC fingerprint, successfully detecting adulteration in commercial samples. This approach appears to offer substantial improvements over conventional detection methods for the authentication of jujube honey.