Inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) is an analytical technique that quantifies elements (metals, semi-metals, and rare earths) in different types of samples and can be used for analyzing honey samples. Honey can be defined as a sugar solution formed by fructose, glucose, and other carbohydrates (Rodríguez et al., 2012), containing amino acids, organic acids, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, flavonoids, pigments, and pollen (Li et al., 2012). The quality of honey depends on its floral origin and chemical composition (Tafere, 2021). Due to the different possibilities of combinations of origin, honey can present great variations in its composition (Braghini et al., 2017) and even slight variations when produced by different species in the same region (Dakshayini et al., 2024).

Native bees play a significant role in pollination due to their foraging behavior with high visitation efficiency (Sajjad et al., 2023). However, bees have been threatened worldwide due to the degradation of natural habitats and the intensification of agriculture (Orford et al., 2015). In addition, global warming resulting from climate change could cause the disappearance of many bee species. The arid climate, for example, is not favorable for A. mellifera (Ali et al., 2020), while some native bee species are able to survive extreme conditions (Sajjad et al., 2023), a fact that highlights the importance of native bees in ecosystems.

The chemical composition of honey can vary according to the climate, soil, floral origin, and metallic composition, and the specific compositions of each honey can be used to characterize and distinguish the honey produced in different geographical regions (Uršulin-Trstenjak et al., 2015; Solayman et al., 2016). The constituents of honey can be used to establish criteria for quality control and markers of geographical (Valverde et al., 2022; Pavlin et al., 2023) and botanical (Pavlin et al., 2023) origin. In addition, the honey produced by bees can be used as a bioindicator of environmental pollution in the region (Bastías et al., 2013), considering that it may contain heavy metals, pesticides, and environmental contaminants (Nayik and Nanda, 2015) that can make honey a toxic food (Przybylowski and Wilczynska, 2001). Studies considering the evaluation of the quality of honey from bees based on the determination of metallic elements using atomic absorption spectrometry are limited and could guide the complementation of information from the Regulamento Técnico de Identidade e Qualidade do Mel (“Technical Regulation of Identity and Quality of Honey”; MAPA, 2000). Since this only shows the value for the maximum permitted concentration of minerals (60.0 g kg⁻¹). The concentration of minerals in honey can affect their quality and improve their commercial value (Valverde et al., 2022; Dakshayini et al., 2024). Honey with 0.04 percent mineral content have a lighter color, while those with a concentration of 0.20 percent have a darker color (Bogdanov et al., 2007), and color can influence consumer choice.

Moreover, honey production has been shown to have a positive economic impact. According to Acibuca (2024), honey, along with other animal products, significantly contributes to the agricultural gross domestic product (AGDP), highlighting the economic benefits of enhancing honey production as part of sustainable agricultural strategies.

We also found that there are no studies comparing the composition of macro- and microelements of honey from different flowering areas, as well as a comparison between honey produced by the Africanized bees Apis mellifera and native bees Tetragonisca angustula, also known as the Jataí or Jataí-Amarela bees, using the ICP-OES technique. Therefore, this study was carried out to evaluate the concentrations of macro- and microelements in honey associated with different blooms produced by A. mellifera and T. angustula.

The experiment was conducted in Campo Grande, MS, Brazil (20°26'37" S latitude and 54°38'52" W longitude). The predominant climate in the region is tropical semi-humid. This type of climate is characterized by hot, rainy summers and dry, cold winters.

The results obtained were limited to macro- (Ca, P, K, Mg, and Na) and microelements (Al, As, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Se, and Zn) in honey (Table 3). From the results obtained, we established a decreasing order for the concentration of the quantified elements in honey. For eucalyptus blossom, it was: Ca> P> Mg> Na> Al> Fe> As> Se> Mn> Zn> Cu; for orange blossom, it was: Ca> P> Na> Mg> Al> Fe> As> Mn> Cu; for cissus blossom, it was: P> Ca> Mg> Na> Fe> Al> Se> As> Mn> Zn> Cu; for aroeira blossom, it was: P> Ca> Mg> Na> Fe> Al> Mn> Se> As> Zn> Ni> Cu; and for T. angustula honey, it was Ca> K> P> Mg> Na> Zn> Fe> Al> Se> As> Mn> Ni> Cu.

Table 3

Element	Flowering				Jataí
	Eucalyptus	Orange	Cissus	Aroeira
Macroelements
Ca	77.75±2.35	59.38±3.41	22.55±1.61	38.00±0.46	125.95±2.33
P	69.40±0.59	55.82±5.23	50.49±0.60	63.34±0.10	99.94±0.12
K	<QL	<QL	<QL	<QL	113.73±17.46
Mg	50.3±0.58	21.49±0.49	14.34±0.61	27.29±0.06	54.80±1.74
Na	41.17±0.21	27.05±2.50	11.67±0.73	17.44±0.13	50.42±1.24
Microelements
Al	2.34±0.05	2.62±0.15	2.87±0.12	2.65±0.04	2.46±0.09
As	2.05±0.06	1.61±0.12	1.17±0.01	1.37±0.07	1.40±0.10
Fe	2.05±0.06	2.21±0.20	3.22±0.06	3.44±0.05	2.59±0.07
Se	1.66±0.05	<QL	1.29±0.05	1.67±0.11	1.81±0.16
Mn	0.78±0.06	0.58±0.08	0.98±0.01	2.44±0.03	1.17±0.02
Zn	0.73±0.01	<QL	0.32±0.00	0.37±0.01	6.97±0.09
Cu	0.08±0.01	0.14±0.01	0.04±0.00	0.08±0.00	0.15±0.02
Ni	<QL	<QL	<QL	0.31±0.01	0.25±0.02
Cd	<QL	<QL	<QL	<QL	<QL
Co	<QL	<QL	<QL	<QL	<QL
Cr	<QL	<QL	<QL	<QL	<QL
Mo	<QL	<QL	<QL	<QL	<QL

<QL - below quantification limit.

We found that the elements Cd, Co, Cr, and Mo were below the limit of quantification in all evaluated honey samples. Potassium was below the limit of quantification for eucalyptus, orange, cissus, and aroeira flowering, being quantified only in T. angustula honey. Nickel was not detected in eucalyptus, orange, and cissus flowerings; on the other hand, it was detected in aroeira flowering and T. angustula honey. Se and Zn were not detected in orange flowering, but were detected in eucalyptus, cissus, aroeira, and T. angustula honey samples.

The presence of minerals in honey can originate from both natural sources such as plants and soil, as well as anthropogenic sources like pollutants (Dakshayini et al., 2024), and the concentration can vary depending on the botanical origin, climatic conditions, extraction, and storage techniques (Thakur et al., 2022).

In general, it has been observed that K is the mineral with the highest concentration in most honey samples (Alqarni et al., 2014; Hungerford et al., 2020; Thakur et al., 2022). However, according to the results obtained, K concentrations for honey from the eucalyptus, aroeira, orange, and cissus flowering plants are below the QL. On the other hand, K (113.73±17.46 mg kg⁻¹) was detected in T. angustula honey. According to tabulated information, the average K concentration in the honey of A. mellifera is 990.0 mg kg⁻¹. However, based on the study carried out by Czipa et al. (2024), it is possible to infer that there may be a large variation in K concentration among the honey samples (87.7 to 1,560.0 mg kg⁻¹) of A. mellifera. A similar result was found by Grembecka and Szefer (2013) (166.0 to 736.0 mg kg⁻¹). For example, honey from Spain contains between 639.0 and 1,845.0 mg kg⁻¹ of K (Fernández-Torres et al., 2005).

We must consider that the variations in the results are due to the variation between the flora in the different geographic regions (Uršulin-Trstenjak et al., 2015). Considering the effects of the regional flora on the mineral concentration in honey, some researchers infer that minerals can serve as indicators of the geographical origin of honey (Edo et al., 2022).

In our study, the highest concentrations of macrominerals obtained in A. mellifera honey were of Ca and P. The Ca values of cissus and aroeira hives are within the range of 27.6 to 72.8 mg kg⁻¹ observed by Grembecka and Szefer (2013) in A. mellifera honey harvested in Europe. On the other hand, as recommended for this element for T. angustula honey, it was superior to that chosen by the referred author. Higher variations in the Ca concentration (111.0 to 257.0 mg kg⁻¹) were observed by Fernández-Torres et al. (2005) in A. mellifera honey in Spain.

In our study, all the honeys had P concentrations higher than the 40.0 mg kg⁻¹ of P estimated by TACO (2006). Higher variations (63.8 to 143.0 mg kg⁻¹) than those observed in the present study were also found by Fernández-Torres et al. (2005) in A. mellifera honey. Even greater variations (35.7 to 696.0 mg kg⁻¹) were found by Grembecka and Szefer (2013) in A. mellifera honey.

The Mg concentrations determined in the honey were lower than the value established by TACO (2006), which is 60.0 mg kg⁻¹. In the literature, it is possible to verify that there can be a great variation in the Mg concentration in A. mellifera honey, as verified by Grembecka and Szefer (2013), who observed a variation of 5.50 to 49.3 mg kg⁻¹.

According to the results obtained, we can infer that T. angustula honey, in addition to being the only one with K concentration, has higher concentrations of minerals when compared with A. mellifera honey, except for Fe, Mn, and Ni in that Aroeira honey had a higher concentration. We observed that T. angustula honey had a Zn concentration approximately 20 times higher than the average concentration in A. mellifera honey. Honey with a higher mineral concentration generally have a darker color and greater medicinal value (Thakur et al., 2022). This shows its medicinal value, since Zn possesses therapeutic benefits in several chronic diseases in humans, such as atherosclerosis, several malignancies, autoimmune diseases, Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders, cancer, diabetes, depression, aging, and Wilson’s disease (Chasapis et al., 2020).

There are no maximum limits stipulated by Brazilian legislation for the concentration of most minerals in honey (TACO, 2006). The concentrations of Ni, Cu, and Zn detected for all honey samples are below the limits stipulated by decree 55.791/65 (Brasil, 1965), which determines maximum concentrations of 5.0, 30.0, and 50.0 mg kg⁻¹, respectively. In turn, the quantified Se concentrations are above the maximum concentration of 0.05 mg kg⁻¹ stipulated by Decree 55.791/65 (Brasil, 1965).

Higher Fe concentrations were found in the honey from the aroeira and cissus blossoms compared with the other honey samples. In addition, the Fe concentration observed in aroeira and cissus honey samples is higher than the average Fe value established by the food tables (TACO, 2006). Other studies in the literature obtained Fe concentrations of 3.76 mg kg⁻¹ (Souza et al., 2014) and high variations (0.8 to 6.7 mg kg⁻¹) were recorded (Grembecka and Szefer, 2013) for A. mellifera honey.

Honey may contain toxic elements (e.g., As and Cd), which have effects on human health (Czipa et al., 2024). In our study, Cd was not detected, since it showed values below the QL in all the honey samples evaluated. However, the As concentration obtained in all flowering honey samples and for T. angustula honey is above the 1.0 mg kg⁻¹ stipulated by Decree 55.871/65 (Brasil, 1965) and normative instruction 14/2009 (MAPA, 2009). The values are also above the maximum permitted limits for inorganic contaminants for honey (0.3 mg kg⁻¹) stipulated by the Ministry of Health, according to resolution nº 42, of August 29, 2013 (ANVISA, 2013).

Arsenic has high absorption levels, depending on the solubility of the compound and the amount ingested, dose, frequency, and time of absorption. It is excreted by the liver and kidneys, acting in the body as an inhibitor of cellular respiration (Barra et al., 2000). Arsenic can cause environmental damage and comes from sources such as industrial (smelting, mining, electricity generation from coal, etc.) and agricultural activities (herbicides, insecticides, algicides, desiccants, wood preservatives, growth stimulants for plants and animals, etc.). In this way, all organisms are subject to direct contamination, or contamination of food.

Other great sources of As are coal furnaces, since the As present in coal becomes a pollutant of the air and a contaminant for food and water stored close to these environments (Baird and Cann, 2011). The content of heavy metals in A. mellifera honey can be considered as an indicator of natural or anthropogenic pollution since the concentration of heavy metals in bee samples reproduces the metal profile of the entire region visited by bees. Therefore, honey has been proposed as a viable bioindicator for environmental contamination by heavy metals in different regions. In a study carried out with honey samples collected in volcanic eruption regions in Chile demonstrated that pollution in honey can originate from natural and anthropogenic sources (Bastías et al., 2013).

The Al concentration obtained in all flowering honeys and in T. angustula honey are below the value of 3.43 mg kg⁻¹ observed by Souza et al. (2014). Aluminum in plants reflects content in soil and water, and certain plants absorb more Al than others (Pennington, 1988). In particular, plants that grow in acidic soil can accumulate higher amounts of Al. It can be found in processed foods through food additives, as well as through the migration of contact materials with foods that contain Al (BMG, 2014). An interesting fact is that Al is listed as a heavy metal according to the definition of WHO (2011). However, we have not found an established limit for the concentration of this metal in our honey samples.

Some elements such as Mg (in T. angustula), Mn (in eucalyptus flowering), P (in all samples), and As (in all samples) are above the tabulated values. There were Na concentrations in all samples analyzed. The elements Cd, Co, Cr, and Mo were not detected in the samples. Nickel was not detected in the flowering of eucalyptus, orange, and cissus, but it was detected in the honey of the flowering of aroeira and T. angustula. The honey of A. mellifera and T. angustula bees can be used as an excellent bioindicator of environmental pollution in the evaluation of the degree of contamination of that environment or contamination of the hive. The results presented can be used to complement the Brazilian food table in relation to the missing elements in it.