Mineral evaluation of honey of Africanized Apis Mellifera

Resumo

Honey contains small amounts and a wide variety of vitamins, minerals, aminoacids and antioxidants. Mineral content includes calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium and zinc. The objective of this study was to quantify the amount of ash and minerals in the honey collected in the states of  Mato Grosso and São Paulo. It was evaluated the mineral and ashes contents of the honey of Africanized Apis mellifera from the Brazilian cerrado in the city of Conquista D'Oeste-(MT), and of the beehives located in a cassava plantation on the border of the cities of Marília and Ocauçu - SP. The combs were centrifuged and decanted for 48 hours, then packed in nontoxic plastic and sent to the Laboratory of Food Biochemistry DQI / UEM. The determination of minerals of honey was done by atomic absorption spectrometry. The ashes were obtained from the incineration of the samples in muffle furnace heated to 600 º C. The results were: ash 0.06 and 0.44%, the minerals in g / kg Ca 0.043 and 0.386, 0.060 and 0.210 Mg, 0.376 and 2.11 K, 0.050 and 0.014 P, 0.011 and 0.005 Cu, for cerrado and cassava honey respectively. The honey in the region of São Paulo state had ash and minerals in larger quantities. This is due to the different vegetation and nature of the soil of the regions studied.

http://dx.doi.org/10.14685/rebrapa.v1i1.11