Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Nov 3;15(11):27854-68.
doi: 10.3390/s151127854.

Determination of the Mineral Composition and Toxic Element Contents of Propolis by Near Infrared Spectroscopy

M Inmaculada González-Martín  1 , Olga Escuredo  2 , Isabel Revilla  3 , Ana M Vivar-Quintana  4 , M Carmen Coello  5 , Carlos Palacios Riocerezo  6 , Guillermo Wells Moncada  7
Affiliations

Determination of the Mineral Composition and Toxic Element Contents of Propolis by Near Infrared Spectroscopy

M Inmaculada González-Martín et al. Sensors (Basel). .

Abstract

The potential of near infrared spectroscopy (NIR) with remote reflectance fiber-optic probes for determining the mineral composition of propolis was evaluated. This technology allows direct measurements without prior sample treatment. Ninety one samples of propolis were collected in Chile (Bio-Bio region) and Spain (Castilla-León and Galicia regions). The minerals measured were aluminum, calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, and some potentially toxic trace elements such as zinc, chromium, nickel, copper and lead. The modified partial least squares (MPLS) regression method was used to develop the NIR calibration model. The determination coefficient (R2) and root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) obtained for aluminum (0.79, 53), calcium (0.83, 94), iron (0.69, 134) potassium (0.95, 117), magnesium (0.70, 99), phosphorus (0.94, 24) zinc (0.87, 10) chromium (0.48, 0.6) nickel (0.52, 0.7) copper (0.64, 0.9) and lead (0.70, 2) in ppm. The results demonstrated that the capacity for prediction can be considered good for wide ranges of potassium, phosphorus and zinc concentrations, and acceptable for aluminum, calcium, magnesium, iron and lead. This indicated that the NIR method is comparable to chemical methods. The method is of interest in the rapid prediction of potentially toxic elements in propolis before consumption.

Keywords: cross-validation; determination; lead; mineral composition; near-infrared spectroscopy; propolis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic of the used NIRS equipment with fiber optic probe.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison of reference values (mg/kg) with values predicted by the calibration equations obtained by NIR. R2, determination coefficient; RMSEP, root mean square error of prediction. (a) Al; (b) Ca; (c) Cr; (d) Cu; (e) Fe; (f) K; (g) Mg; (h) Ni; (i) Pb; (j) P; (k) Zn.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison of reference values (mg/kg) with values predicted by the calibration equations obtained by NIR. R2, determination coefficient; RMSEP, root mean square error of prediction. (a) Al; (b) Ca; (c) Cr; (d) Cu; (e) Fe; (f) K; (g) Mg; (h) Ni; (i) Pb; (j) P; (k) Zn.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Gómez-Caravaca A., Gómez-Romero M., Arráez-Román D., Segura-Carretero A., Fernández-Gutiérrez A. Advances in the analysis of phenolic compounds in products derived from bees. J. Pharm. Biomed. Anal. 2006;41:1220–1234. doi: 10.1016/j.jpba.2006.03.002. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bankova V., Popova M., Bogdanov A., Sabatini A.G. Chemical Composition of European propolis: expected and unexpected results. Z. Naturforsch. 2002;57:530–533. doi: 10.1515/znc-2002-5-622. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Popova M., Silici S., Kaftanoglu O., Bankova V. Antibacterial activity of Turkish propolis and its qualitative and quantitative chemical composition. Phytomedicine. 2005;12:221–228. doi: 10.1016/j.phymed.2003.09.007. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Sforcin J.M. Propolis and the immune system: A review. J. Ethnopharmacol. 2007;113:1–14. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2007.05.012. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lima B., Tapia A., Luna L., Fabani M.P., Schmeda-Hlrschmann G., Podio N.S., Wunderlin D.A., Feresin G.E. Mainflavonoids, DPPH activity, and metal content allow determination of the geographical origin of propolis from the province of San Juan (Argentina) J. Agric. Food Chem. 2009;57:2691–2698. doi: 10.1021/jf803866t. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources