engleski

Determination of Trace Elements in Croatian Unifloral Honeys

Honey mineral content is affected by its botanical origin (nutrients absorbed by the plant) and bioavailability of nutrients in the soil. Mineral elements are divided in the group of more represented macro and micro elements in honey and trace elements, which are present in small quantities. Determination of some trace elements content in honey can be used as indicator for environmental pollution, since they are present in the soil mainly due to industrial pollution and usage of agrochemicals. Because of that, evaluation of trace element content is used in determination of honey geographical origin. Some of them could be connected with inappropriate honey storage. This work presents the results of determination the trace elements content (Al, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Hg, Ni, Pb) by Inductively Coupled Plasma – Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) in six unifloral honey types from Croatia (black locust, chestnut, lime, rape, sage and winter savory honey). Their values were mainly very low or under the limit of detection and Al content stood out with highest average value in lime honey (11.356 mg/kg). Al, As and Hg content has proven to be important for determination of regional origin of lime honey.

honey ; mineral elements ; trace elements ; contamination indicator ; ICP-OES

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