SELENIUM LEVELS IN SOME SPECIES OF HONEY IN EASTERN CROATIA

The aim of this paper was to establish the content of trace element selenium in four species of honey produced in Eastern Croatia: sunflower, locust, floral and wild floral honey and to find out if there are any differences among these 4 varieties through two consecutive seasons. In total there were 80 samples of honey. The botanic origin of honey was determined by microscopic analyses of pollen as well as organoleptically. The amount of selenium was determined using MHS-10 which was connected to atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Average content of selenium in two consecutive seasons for sunflower was 0.093 and 0.118 mg/kg (xBAR = 0.108 mg/kg); locust 0.063 and 0.019 mg/kg (xBAR = 0.038 mg/kg); floral 0.029 and 0.019 mg/kg (xBAR = 0.023 mg/kg) and wild floral 0.024 and 0.013 mg/kg (xBAR = 0.017 mg/kg), respectively. If both seasons and all four species are considered, the average content was 0.041 mg/kg, and it was above the limit compared to the literature for sugar and similar products. Between two seasons there was significant difference at the 95% probability level in the content of selenium for locust honey only. The highest content was found in sunflower so this variety is recommended for cases of selenium deficit. The content of selenium with possible daily and weekly intakes of honey, does not represent the risk of intoxication.