Geographically Indicated Honeys in High-Altitude Turkey: Predicting Botanical Origin, Quality, Authenticity, and Bioactive Profiles Using Multivariate Analysis

This study comprehensively examined the pollen composition of High-Altitude Turkey in Kars honey, with a geographical indication, through melissopalynological analyses, and determined the relationships between these data and the honey’s antibacterial activity and quality characteristics. The melissopalynological analysis identified 55 pollen taxa; the most frequently occurring pollen belonged to the Onobrychis, Astragalus, Trifolium, and Centaurea. The average TPC-10 (total pollen count in 10 g of honey) was found to be 65,757.05 ± 50,903.85 (10,779–232,914). Antimicrobial activity varied depending on the bacterial species and honey concentration. Stronger activity was observed against Gram-positive bacteria. The physicochemical properties and sugar profiles of the samples generally met the Codex Alimentarius criteria. The existence of positive and significant correlations between antibacterial activity and TPC-10 (p < 0.05) suggests that TPC-10 is a determinant of both quality and broad-spectrum antibacterial activity. Univariate tests showed that TPC-10 was significantly associated with E. coli (p = 0.0028), K. pneumoniae (p = 0.035), S. aureus (p = 0.0079), and P. aeruginosa (p = 0.0021). The General Linear Model (GLM) showed a high degree of fit for TPC-10 (R2 = 0.98; adj. R2 = 0.94) and was found to be significant (F = 24.61; p = 0.0039), indicating that bacterial strains accounted for a large proportion of the variance in TPC-10. Multivariate analyses revealed the rich pollen composition and distinct antimicrobial interactions of honey samples. The findings demonstrate that simultaneous assessment of melissopalynological pollen diversity and density, together with sugar profiles, physicochemical parameters, and antibacterial activity, provides an evidence-based framework for objectively and reliably determining the quality classification and functional properties of High-Altitude Kars honeys.