Abstract
Six macroelements and twelve microelements were identified in thirty-six Hungarian acacia honeys collected from ten counties by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). One-Way ANOVA (LSD and Dunnett T3 test) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) were used to determine the statistically verified differences among the honey samples with different geographical origin.
 Significant differences were established among the samples from different counties in Na, P, S, Fe, Ni, Cu and Sr concentrations. Based on the macroelement content of honeys, the separation of samples with different geographical origin was not successful because the percent of correctly categorised cases was only 64.9%. However, examining the As, B, Ba, Cu, Fe Mn, Ni and Sr concentration, the separation of different groups was convincing since the percent of correctly classified cases was 97.2%. Thus, the examination of microelement concentration may be able to determine the geographical origin of acacia honeys.
Highlights
Honey is a natural substance produced by Apis mellifera bees from nectar and/or honeydew
The highest K content was measured in a sample from HB (287±4 mg kg-1) and the lowest concentration was determined in a sample from between 32.0±1.2 mg kg-1 (BK) (111±4 mg kg-1)
The P concentrations were ranged between 32.0±1.2 mg kg-1 (BK) and 56.1±0.6 mg kg-1 (VE)
Summary
Honey is a natural substance produced by Apis mellifera bees from nectar and/or honeydew. In Hungary the annual honey production was 26,360 tonnes in 2016 (FAOSTAT) due to the environmental conditions of our countries that are favourable for honey production. Honey is a very complex food containing many essential nutrients, in particular micro and trace elements, proteins, amino acids, vitamins and enzymes. Honey has a low mineral content (0.1–0.2% in nectar honeys) which varies depending on the soil conditions (Pohl et al, 2012) and extraction techniques (Hernández et al, 2005), rendering it suitable as an environmental indicator (Almeida-Silva et al, 2011). Anthropogenic activities (e.g. smelting, burning of fossil fuel, use of fertilizers and pesticides, transport) may affect soil and air properties that influence the trace element content of plants (KabataPendias and Mukherjee, 2007)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
