Seasonal variation in trace and minor elements in Brazilian honey by total reflection X-ray fluorescence

Abstract

Honey is used as an alternative medicine and is a constituent of a healthy diet worldwide. Its composition is associated with botanical origin and, to some extent, geographical origin because soil and climate characteristics determine the melliferous flora. Also, the elements content in honey samples could give an indication of environmental pollution or geographical origin. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate seasonal patterns of essential elements of Brazilian honey. Honey was collected during spring, summer, autumn, and winter for 2 years to quantify K, Ca, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Se, Br, and Sr using total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (TXRF). Our results indicate no seasonal differences in concentration of Cr, Ni, Se, and Ti, although there were significant seasonal patterns in the composition of essential elements in honey, with higher concentrations of minor and trace elements, especially K and Ca of samples collected in spring and summer.

An overview of the applications of total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectrometry in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical research

“…Decomposition of the liquid to be deposited onto the reflector is also a common sample preparation method to improve the limits of detection. This pre-treatment is reported for the TXRF analysis of milk, 98 honey, 99–101 soft drinks, 102,103 wine, 104 soy sauce 105 and sugar-cane spirits. 106 As shown in Table 4(b), sample decomposition is usually performed by wet ashing procedures involving the use of concentrated acids (HNO 3 , HCl) or some mixtures of acids in combination with oxidizing agents (HNO 3 + H 2 O 2 ).…”

Determination of the Chemical Properties of Honey from Suba Region, Homa Bay County-Kenya

“…Honey production capacities vary significantly from one country to another. For instance, China boasts the highest production yield, generating 170,000 tonnes, whereas Argentina produces 45,500 tonnes (Oliveira et al, 2015). According to WEEMA (2016), Ethiopia holds the top spot as the largest honey producer in Africa, followed by Tanzania, with Kenya ranking third.…”

Analytical performance of Compton/Rayleigh signal ratio by total reflection X‐ray fluorescence (TXRF): A potential methodological tool for sample differentiation

“…Total reflection X‐ray fluorescence (TXRF) spectroscopy is a technique that is often used for the direct analysis of elemental composition 1–5 and has been well received by the community of researchers and users, mainly because of its major attributes: nondestructive, good sensitivity, multielement analysis, and low operational costs. It consists of the excitation of a sample with an X‐ray beam at an angle <0.1°, and the detection of the fluorescence emitted by the sample at an angle ≈ 90° 6 .…”