A rapid method for the determination of honey diastase activity

A new rapid method for the determination of honey diastase activity using direct potentiometric principles has been proposed. A platinum redox sensor has been used to quantify the amount of free triiodide released from a starch triiodide complex after starch hydrolysis by honey diastase. The method was tested on honey samples with varying diastase activities. The first 5 min of data for each sample were used for linear regression analysis in order to calculate diastase activity. The new method was compared with classical Schade and commercial Phalebas procedures. The results showed good correlations with both methods and offered a simple method for unit conversion to DN units for diastase activity, making the method suitable for routine analysis. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.