Trace Elements and Heavy Metal Contents in West Algerian Natural Honey

Table 7

A comparison among reports regarding mineral content in honey samples from Mediterranean regions.

Element	Present study	Morocco [38]	Morocco [55]	Tunisia [39]	Portugal [43]	Portugal [44]	Spain [46]	Spain [47]	Spain [48]	Spain [49]	Spain [50]
		N = 29	N = 8	N = 6	N = 38	N = 16	N = 40	N = 8	N = 60	N = 140	N = 41
Cr	27.36–87.37 μg/kg	—	—	0.02–0.32	—	—	—	—	0.049–4.480	—	—
Co	0.36–21.19 μg/kg	—	nd	—	—	—	—	—	0.015–0.720	—	—
V	0.81–106.51 μg/kg	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
W	10.65–24.30 μg/kg	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Ru	˂LOQ	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Rh	˂LOQ	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Pt	˂LOQ	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Au	˂LOQ	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
As	1.61–21.56 μg/kg	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Cd	0.24–8.14 μg/kg	—	nd	—	—	—	—	—	nd–0.355	4.21–4.56 μg/kg	—
Pb	0.54–132.73 μg/kg	≤0.1	nd	0.01–0.05	—	—	—	—	—	46.32–31.50 μg/kg	—
K	153.00–989.00	256–1023	644.02–1883.15	172.48–976.75	117.55–2590.60	42.98–1352.90	434.1–1935	545.45–5570.73	514–6785	—	1615–3770
Na	13.30–281.00	18.81–118.74	367.52–855.24	251.34–521.22	90.22–727.79	0.36–95.13	11.69–218.5	9.18–151.65	38–476	—	11–84
Ca	33.10–502.00	19.71–200.1	129.35–688.43	113.85–221.07	6.24–134.35	2.77–234.63	42.59–341.0	15.14–181.69	107–420	—	68–476
Mg	20.80–162.00	19.85–45.84	18.42–131.21	—	10.62–70.41	1.79–230.81	13.26–74.38	42.11–1078.95	19–173	—	30–402
Cu	1.66–9.62	≤0.1	0.11–1.82	0.12–0.34	—	0.00–5.35	0.531–2.117	nd	0.547–2.300	0.74–1.88	1–7
Mn	1.36–13.90	0.28–1.74	—	—	—	0.00–22.62	0.133–9.471	—	3.4–45	—	—
Fe	8.48–59.60	1.46–13.95	0.71–4.68	0.83–3.54	—	0.18–2.68	—	nd–7.07	0.71–60	2.26–4.70	0–7
Zn	0.22–13.90	≤0.1–0.69	1.41–4.26	0.42–2.06	—	0.03–3.29	1.332–7.825	0.30–7.06	0.93–5.9	2.34–3.47	0–7

From each report, the min-max range is mentioned. All values are in mg/kg, unless stated otherwise. nd: not detected; ˂LOQ: concentrations were lower than LOQ; N: the number of honey samples.