Exploring the impact of harvest year on the mineral composition of Mimosa scabrella Bentham honeydew honey from Santa Catarina (Brazil) using ICP-MS and chemometric tools

Abstract

This study investigated the variation in mineral elements in bracatinga (Mimosa scabrella Bentham) honeydew honeys produced biannually over three consecutive harvest years. The aim was to assess the relationship between the year of production and the concentration of fourteen rare earth elements and six trace elements analysed using ICP-MS. The concentrations of the twenty elements varied (P < 0.001) among all the honey samples. The dominant rare earth elements were Eu, followed by Nd and La, while Pd and Au were the major trace elements. Cluster analysis (CA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) were performed using all the elements identified. The LDA categorised (83.3% accuracy) the bracatinga honeydew honey samples according to their harvest year. Discriminant functions, influenced by Ce, Tb, and Th, show distinct elemental patterns in bracatinga honeydew honeys, varying with harvest year. This reflects fluctuations in yearly climatic conditions and is important to guarantee accurate characterisation.