Compositional Assessment of Honeys from the Central Atlantic Forest: Multielement and Physicochemical Characterization

TL;DR

This study analyzes the composition of honey from Brazil's Central Atlantic Forest to assess its quality and support conservation efforts.

Contribution

The paper provides a detailed multielemental and physicochemical characterization of honey from a threatened biodiversity hotspot.

Findings

Potassium, calcium, and magnesium were the most abundant minerals in the honey samples.

Principal component analysis successfully differentiated between polyfloral and monofloral honey types.

Most honey samples met Brazilian and international quality standards.

Abstract

The ongoing rise
in both consumption and exportation of Brazilian
honey underscores the need for stricter authentication and traceability
protocols to ensure the quality and safety of this food product. Therefore,
this study characterizes the multielemental and physicochemical composition
of honey samples from the Central Corridor of the Atlantic Foresta
recognized yet threatened biodiversity hotspot in Brazil. Using inductively
coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry and standard physical-chemical
methods, 23 honey samples were analyzed for mineral content, including
Al (0.0013–0.109 mg kg–1), Ca (28.9–262.49
mg kg–1), Cr (0.09–1.36 mg kg–1), Cu (0.051–0.467 mg kg–1), Fe (0.8–26.3
mg kg–1), K (83.8–1896.5 mg kg–1), Mg (20.8–349.5 mg kg–1), Mn (0.010–6.94
mg kg–1), Na (10.51–464.16 mg kg–1), Se (0.143–0.317 mg kg–1), Sr (0.003–1.429
mg kg–1), and Zn (0.142–4.276 mg kg–1), and quality parameters such as moisture (11.69–19.84%),
insoluble solids (0.050–0.571 g 100 g–1),
acidity (41.3–79.5 mequiv kg–1), HMF (7.80–39.77
mg kg–1), diastase activity (3.07–23.76 DN),
reducing sugars (56.31–80.07 g 100 g–1),
and apparent saccharose (2.10–17.74 g 100 g–1). Potassium, calcium, and magnesium were the predominant minerals.
Principal component analysis differentiated honey types, with polyfloral
and monofloral samples forming distinct groups. Most samples met the
Brazilian and international standards for physicochemical parameters.
The findings highlight the quality profile of the Atlantic Forest’s
honey, which may contribute to the conservation of this endangered
biome.

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