Tehran University of Medical Sciences Journal of Food Safety and Hygiene 2476-3241 9 4 2024 01 24 241 251 Hanieh Nobari Moghaddam Department of Drug and Food Control, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Shahrzad Alaeepajouh Department of Drug and Food Control, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Masoomeh Behzad Department of Drug and Food Control, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Mannan Hajimahmoodi Department of Drug and Food Control, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Naficeh Sadeghi Drug and Food Control Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 2023 08 26 2023 12 09 Honey is one of the richest sources of antioxidants due to a variety of phenolic acids and flavonoids. Another prime chemical indicator of assessing honey quality is 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) which indicates the freshness of honey as well as exposure to heat. Increasing HMF above the permissible limit could cause cytotoxic and mutagenic effects. In this study, we evaluate the antioxidant activity and radical scavenging capacity of forty samples of natural and commercial Iranian honey. Also, we determine the HMF content in these samples. This aim was achieved through ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, and white methods. Results of DPPH (in the range of 3.13% to 66.61%) revealed there was no significant difference between natural and commercial honey in terms of radical scavenging activity (p˃0.05). On the other hand, the results of FRAP showed that natural honey had a significantly higher total antioxidant capacity than commercial honey (p˂0.05). There was a significant difference between honey samples from different plants, too. Furthermore, there was a significant difference between natural and commercial honey in terms of radical scavenging activity and HMF levels (p˂0.05). The result of HMF content was in the range of 8.64 to 98.48 mg/kg. Eventually, it could be concluded that climate, plant source, process of production and storage have an impact on these parameters. Also, some honey samples have high HMF content due to heat-treated processes or dated products. https://jfsh.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jfsh/article/view/466 https://jfsh.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jfsh/article/download/466/227