Elemental analysis of Hungarian honey samples and bee products by MP-AES method

Abstract

Honey is a naturally sweet product of honeybees (Apis mellifera) made from the nectar of different plants, as well as honeydew. The average mineral content of honey with nectar origin is reported to be 0.1–0.2%, while that for honeydew is 1%. Mineral concentration in honey was found to be correlated with geographical and botanical origins, geochemical soil composition and local pollution. Thus, honeys are considered to be excellent indicators of the environmental factors.In this study, 187 samples were collected from all over Hungary, including 11 different types of honey and special bee products. The country was divided into 7 regions based on the NUTS system and the samples were grouped accordingly. The concentration of 4 macro elements (Na, Ca, Mg, K) and 15 micro elements (Al, B, Ba, Bi, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Li, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sr, Zn) were determined by the relatively new MP-AES technique. Experimental data were evaluated by statistical analysis.The results of Canonical Discriminant Analysis (CDA) indicated that considering the geological origin, Central Hungary and Western Transdanubia showed some separation from the other sampling regions as well as the differentiation of five honey types was also observed among the collected species. Higher difference was found between the species than the regions indicating that the botanical aspects have a higher effect compared to the geological ones on the elemental composition of the studied honey samples. From the measured elements potassium was present in the highest concentration and chestnut honeys were observed to have outstanding overall mineral level. It can be further concluded that the MP-AES method is proved to be a suitable and cost-effective alternative for the elemental analysis of prepared honey samples.