author(s)
KT Vijayakumar, T Neethu, NS Bhat, T Nayimabanu and H Varsharani

abstract
Honey is a product obtained from honey bee hives which has medicinal and antibacterial properties. The physico chemical properties of honey vary with bee species, floral source, climate, geography etc. The honey samples weighing about 50-100g were collected directly from beekeepers from different parts of Bangalore, Karnataka. Twenty three honey samples were tested for pollen diversity and physico-chemical properties. Pollen grains in the honey samples belonged to various plant families viz., Euphorbiaceae, Asteraceae, Myrtaceae, Meliaceae, Acanthaceae, Fabaceae (Leguminaceae), Malvaceae and Liliaceae. Number of pollen grains ranged between 15,000 and 7, 48,000 per 10 g of honey. Out of 23 honey samples, 19 were unifloral type and 4 were multifloral. The tested honey samples varied in their physic-chemical properties viz., total solids (79.65±2.42%), RI (1.473 to 1.495), ash content (0.32±0.07%), seven colour variation (water white to dark amber), specific gravity (1.40±0.03), moisture content (20.35±2.42%), EC (0.86 ±0.42 dS/m), total reducing sugars (68.16% ±5.86%) and sucrose (2.94% ±1.26%). Eucalyptus honeys recorded highest TRS content irrespective of honey bee species.