Mineral Analysis of Honey Samples

We added 5 mL of 0.1 M nitric acid to the honey, and the mixture was stirred on a heating plate until nearly dry. Subsequently, an additional 10 mL of the same acid was added, and the mixture was adjusted to a total volume of 25 mL with ultrapure water [50 (link)]. The mineral components were determined using atomic absorption spectrometry (Thermo Scientific ICE 3000 Series AA Spectrometer, Waltham, MA, USA). Prior to analysis, the instrument was calibrated with known concentrations of K (0.1–5 mg/L), Na (0.1–5 mg/L), Ca (0.1–5 mg/L), Fe (0.1–5 mg/L), Cu (0.5–4 mg/L), Zn (0.1–2 mg/L), Pb (0.1–4 mg/L), Cd (0.1–2 mg/L), and Ni (0.1–5 mg/L).