EVALUATION OF MINERAL CONSTITUENTS OF HONEY PRODUCED IN SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA

Abstract

Honey is a natural sweetener and medicinal substance that offers beekeepers substantial livelihood. However, the scantiness of statistics on the mineral qualities of honey produced in Southwestern Nigeria (SN) has initiated this research. Therefore, this study was designed to evaluate the mineral constituents in honey produced in SN. Using a multistage sampling procedure, three states, Osun, Ogun, and Oyo, were purposively chosen because of their prevalent apicultural activities. Three localities were later selected per state, and an emergent sampling technique was used to obtain capped honeycomb from one hive in Aba Oka, Oke Onitii, Iyemogun, Iwoye, Alabata, Ijagun, Oke Orogun, Laniba, and Badeku. The honey collected was analysed for mineral (mg/g) constituents following standard procedures. The data obtained were analysed using descriptive statistics and ANOVA at α_0.05. The honey obtained from SN has zero (0.000) heavy metals. However, other minerals were present in minute quantities, with concentrations higher in Savannah agroecological zones (AZs) than Rainforest AZs, except for a few exceptional cases. Potassium was most abundant (0.365) in Oke Onitii honey, whereas the lowest (0.106) concentration was from Ijagun. Therefore, Oke Onitii honey would be most useful for inclusion in human and livestock diets because of its high potassium concentration required for body fluid balance.