Major and trace elements in different types of Egyptian mono-floral and non-floral bee honeys

The chemical composition of bee honey varies with the surrounding environment (major floral and soil contamination), which reflects the nutrition value of honey. Trace elements Co, Cu, F, Fe, I, Mn, Ni, Sr and Zn and major elements Cl, Na, K and Mg as well as toxic elements Cd and Pb were all determined in different types of bee honey which include non-floral honey with artificial feeding (syrup-feed honey), and mono-floral honeys (sesame honey, orange honey and clover honey). These elements were also determined in the bee feeds, which include flowers (sesame, orange and clover) and syrup. The results revealed that of all types of honeys, syrup-feed honey exhibited higher concentrations of Cd, Cl, Co, Fe, K, Mg Mn, Na and Pb than in the other honeys. Orange honey contained the lowest element concentrations. Clover honey had the lowest toxic element Cd and Pb concentrations (0.01 and 4.2 mug/g, respectively) while sesame honey contained the highest levels of Cd and F (0.5 and 12.5 mug/g), respectively. Statistical analysis revealed significant correlation between honey and the feed (R, 0.770-0.971). Cluster analysis of the honeys data revealed that the origin of the honey samples correlated with its chemical composition. Element concentrations in the honey under study were in the safety baseline levels for human consumption. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.