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Matrine and oxymatrine are both commercially available as pesticide formulations with wide-ranging properties. The compounds are naturally occurring plant alkaloids also known to be present in significant concentrations in the flowers and other plant material of Sophora flavescens, a shrub-like tree growing extensively in some regions of China. The trees are reported to be found in regions where Acacia trees are also abundant and therefore where Acacia honey is produced. The two tree species are known to flower over the same short period of time hence introducing the possibility that natural oxymatrine and matrine are transferred to Acacia honey by the honeybees foraging on Sophora nectar containing traces of these compounds. Alternatively, traces of these compounds may have been introduced into honey through usage of commercial formulations of matrine and oxymatrine in the region.

Despite the possibility that detected residues of matrine and oxymatrine may be due to natural occurrence these compounds are classified as pesticides and have no maximum residue level (MRL) set for honey in either EU or UK legislation and are therefore not permitted. The legal MRL for each of these compounds in all food commodities including honey is 0.01 mg/kg (parts per million), or 10 parts per billion (ppb) by default.

In anticipation of an industry need for rapid testing of these residues in honey Minerva has established a LC-MS/MS procedure for their trace-level detection.

Honey Testing at Minerva Scientific

Honey analysis is a core competence of our business. We can offer an extensive range of both macro and trace analyses including commercial, adulteration and contaminants testing. Many of our tests are UKAS ISO17025 Accredited.

Should you have any questions or queries then don’t hesitate to reach out to your local Tentamus laboratory, which can be found at tentamus.com/labs.