The levels of trace elements in honey and molasses samples that were determined by ICP-OES

Abstract

The aim of this study is determining the amount of Al, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn in samples of molasses and honey which were gathered from the Sakarya and Istanbul regions. In this study, trace elements in 8 honey and 20 molasses samples with different botanic features were evaluated. The sample preparation phase was performed via wet decomposition method and microwave digestion system. The accuracy of the method was checked by the standard reference material; tea leaves (INCY-TL-1) and NIST-SRM 1515-apple. The concentrations of essential trace elements (TEs) were observed in the range of 1.61 ± 0.01–287.03 ± 1.07; 0.21 ± 0.01–11.04 ± 0.12; 0.35 ± 0.03–21.71 ± 0.02 and 1.19 ± 0.01–60.90 ± 1.09 μg g−1 for iron, copper, manganese and zinc ions, respectively, while the toxic element contents were observed in the range of 0.82 ± 0.17–3.06 ± 0.03; 0.04 ± 0.05–1.96 ± 0.03 and 0.62 ± 0.01–120.52 ± 0.10 μg g−1 for lead, nickel and aluminum ions, respectively. The concentrations of basic TEs iron, copper, manganese and zinc were determined as 3.87 ± 0.04–16.76 ± 0.06; 0.45 ± 0.03–2.15 ± 0.01; 0.13 ± 0.01–15.02 ± 0.14 and 0.80 ± 0.09–12.03 ± 0.19 for honey samples. Also, toxic metal, lead, nickel and aluminum values in the honey samples were determined as 1.21 ± 0.12–2.46 ± 0.21; 0.28 ± 0.14–0.88 ± 0.43 and 2.11 ± 0.02–8.04 ± 0.08. A comparison between gathered data and literature values has performed and it is determined that such findings are suitable with the literature.