Desenvolvimento de métodos analíticos verdes para determinação multielementar em amostras de produtos apícolas por técnicas espectrométricas.

Abstract

Anthropogenic actions are the main contributors to the deposition of potentially toxic chemical elements in the environment. Pollinating agents, such as bees, can interact with these chemical species, leading to the transfer of these pollutants to bees and hive products such as honey, pollen, propolis, royal jelly, and wax. In this context, three green methods were developed for the analysis of beekeeping products, pollen, and honey, as well as multielement determination using spectrometric techniques. The first is a method for the determination of Ca, Fe, Co, Ni, Zn, and Cd in bee pollen using energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (EDXRF) after sample preparation by suspension (pollen and a natural deep eutectic solvent composed of lactic acid, glucose, and water (NADES LGH)). The detection limits were 0.24, 0.07, 0.003, 0.05, 0.03, and 0.02 mg kg⁻¹ for Ca, Fe, Co, Ni, Zn, and Cd, respectively. Recovery tests were performed on pollen samples spiked with 67 and 667 mg kg⁻¹ of the analytes, with results ranging from 80% to 120%. Additionally, two analytical decomposition procedures, based on activated persulfate reactions, were compared for multielement determination in honey samples using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES). The detection limits were 10, 30, 2, 30, 10, 60, and 30 µg kg⁻¹ for Zn, Co, Cd, Mn, Cr, Al, and Cu, respectively, which are suitable for food analysis according to Brazilian regulations. Precision was evaluated through the relative standard deviation (RSD) and was ≤ 3% for all analytes. Furthermore, recovery tests were performed on honey samples spiked with 0.5, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, 2.5, 5.0, and 50 mg kg⁻¹ of the analytes, with results ranging from 80% to 120%. All the proposed methods were assessed as green alternatives using sustainable metrics. The final score of these green metrics ensures that the methods align with the criteria of Green Analytical Chemistry (GAC).