Comparative Analysis of Some Mineral Profile of Honey Marketed and Consumed in Some of the States in Northern Part of Country (Nigeria)

Abstract

Honey and honey trade is an important economic activity for many tropical rural and urban areas worldwide. In West Africa and other part of the world, honey and honey products holds high socio–cultural, religious, medicinal and traditional values. Therefore, to maximize benefits or to enhance profit, a variety of components are added to the raw, fresh and unprocessed honey, introducing the possibility of heavy metals contaminants. Therefore the honey sold in various places, markets and shops in some states in Northern Nigeria (Benue, Nassarawa and Taraba) including Abuja FCT, in Nigeria was analyzed to determine the level of heavy metals (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn).All the honey samples contain heavy metals. The results ranged from 0.028–0.070, 0.023–0.058, 0.042–0.092, 4.231–8.589, 8.115–14.892, 0.078–0.922, 0.044–0.092, 0.041–0.087 and 18.234–28.654 μg/L for Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn respectively. The mean concentration (μg/L) of the heavy metals Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn of the regularly marketed honey is significantly higher than the mean concentration observed in raw, fresh and unprocessed honey. However, continued consumption of honey with high heavy metal content might lead to exposure to chronic heavy metal poisoning.

Assessment of mineral composition and health status of five honey samples from southern Nigeria: drifting towards food quality control

“…Despite having essential minerals, the honeys had heavy metals with concentrations above maximum permissible limits. Ba, Fe, Pb, Cr, Ni, Ag, Mn, Cd and As were above recommended limits similar to the reports of Obasi et al (2020) in the South east, and Odoh et al (2015) in the middle belt. This calls for further public health concern and detailed investigation.…”

“…To our knowledge, very little or no empirical research on the elemental composition of honey has been carried out in Nigeria, and only recently, Obasi et al (2020) reported the presence of heavy metals in apiary honeys from south-eastern Nigeria with Arsenic and Lead levels above recommended range in some of the samples posing potential health risk for children. Odoh et al (2015) report also covered the middle belt region of Nigeria (Taraba, Nassarawa, FCT and Abuja) con rming the presence of honeys from that region.…”

“…Understanding the concentration of minerals in honey could shed light on the nutritional status and levels of environmental pollution in the location where the honey was produced (Pohl, 2009). It has been con rmed that high concentration of heavy metals could be related to adulteration (Odoh et al, 2015). This paper tries to conduit this perceived gap by attempting to add to the pool of data on honey quality assessment in Africa.…”