Physicochemical Properties and Mineral Profile of Honeys from Argentina, Portugal and Angola

Honey is a natural sweet product which gained increasing interest of scientific community, specially due to its high nutritional value and health benefits. Honey composition is highly influenced by type of flowers, regional and climatic conditions and its quality also depends on proper producing and processing technology. These explain the differences presented by honeys from different regions. In this work proximal and mineral profile of multi-floral honeys from selected regions of Argentina, Portugal, and Angola were determined and reported for the first time. Therefore the nutrient analysis and chemical properties with the purpose to be included in national Food Composition Databank and disseminated through EuroFIR e-search platform was carried out. Ash, Moisture, °Brix sugar, pH and electrical conductivity were determined by AOAC methods. Manganese. iron, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, sodium and potassium were analyzed by ICP-OES and, copper, zinc, cadmium, lead and selenium by IC P-MS. Analyzed honeys showed °Brix sugar ranged 77-82 at 20ºC. Moisture content and acidity is according with legislation, <18% and < 50mEq respectively, showing the good quality of tested samples. Ash content ranged 0.08-0.40 g/100g. Potassium was the most abundant mineral content ranging from 53-171mg/100g, phosphorus values varies between 5-12mg/100g, calcium from 4-8 mg/100g, magnesium from 2-5 mg/100g and manganese from 0.10-0.15mg/100g. Selenium and cadmium contents were below 23 µg/kg and 11 µg/kg respectively. Lead values ranged from <23-178 µg/kg. Based on these results honeys under study can be considered a good source of minerals, with numerous health benefits associated. Also, as expected, results showed differences in composition among honeys obtained from different regions. The use of EuroFIR guidelines for determination of proximate, mineral and trace elements contents reveled that data obtained could be used as a contribution to honey quality and authenticity.