## 2 Nutritional Properties of Honey Corresponding to Its General and Specific Chemical Composition
### General Chemical Composition of Honey
#### 2.1.5 Minerals  
In order to manifest in honey's composition, minerals have to pass through a lengthy process. Originated mainly from soil, minerals are incorporated into the plants through the roots, arriving to their last stage with the aid of honey bees that collect the raw material for the honey-making process [71]. However, minerals may also appear due to environmental pollution or beekeeping extraction methods in particular [72]. The main mineral elements found in honey are: potassium (K), sodium (Na), calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg), followed by iron (Fe), cop-per (Cu), manganese (Mn), chlorine (Cl) [53]. Only small quantities of boron (B), phosphorus (P), sulfur (S), silicon (Si), Barium (Ba), and nickel (Ni) can be found in honey. All of these minerals are important for the human diet, as they play a key role in the metabolic functions of the human body [58] by maintaining normal physiological responses, influencing the circulatory and reproductive systems acting as catalysts in various biochemical reactions [59].  
The mineral content of honey is different in Blossom honeys (0.1-0.2%) than in Honeydew varieties (1%) [41]. One of the representative minerals in honey is K, standing for 80% of the total [72], followed by P, Ca, Mg, Na, Fe. Studies reported data regarding the existence of K as the main mineral present in honey samples from Turkey [73], Serbia [74] or Morocco [13].  
Since minerals can indicate the botanical origin of a specific honey, several studies have aimed to classify honey's botanically origin by taking into consideration their trace elements profile. Even if almost all minerals are part of honey's chemical structure worldwide, Cl has been detected only in honey samples from Spain [75]. Moreover, [PERSON] et al. (2018b) [76] analysed different varieties of honey samples from different parts of Cyprus, Greece and Egypt. They identified a vast range of trace elements, the major found in the three areas were P and Ca. While P was significant for the Greece region, Ca was found in higher proportions in Egyptian honey samples.  
Fe is another important element for the human physiological processes. Its concentration has been revealed in honey samples from Serbia, with Acacia having the highest content of Fe (mean value 1.24 mg/kg). Similar results were reported for Croatian honeys [77], where the highest Fe concentration was observed for rapeseed honey (mean value 3.14 mg/kg), whereas for Romanian honey samples were observed higher ranges of Fe (11.35-54.78 mg/kg) [21,78]. Some studies have been reported the presence of heavy metals, such as Pb and Cd or toxic elements (Cr and As) in Honeydew honey samples, but their manifestation was determined by environmental contamination, fertiliser treatments, or incorrect procedures during processing and honey storage [58]. However, European Commission Regulations [79] established the maximum level of Cd and Pb in honeys (0.1 mg/kg). Cadmium was detected, among others, for Croatian [77], Iranian [80] and Romanian [78] honeys samples: 0.239-2.53 g/kg, 1.36-125.88 g/kg and 0.5-11.60 g/kg, respectively. Due to the low concentration in minerals, honey cannot be considered a reliable source of these nutrients.