ICP-MS Elemental Profiling and Antioxidant Characterization of Romanian Artisanal Pălincă-Based Beverages Enriched with Honey, Wild Fruits, and Wood Materials

Traditional Romanian Pălincă is a protected fruit spirit obtained from fermented fruit matrices, whereas honey- and botanical-enriched Pălincă-based beverages require integrated compositional and technological characterization. This study investigated the physicochemical, chromatic, antioxidant, and ICP-MS elemental profiles of experimental beverages prepared from grape- and plum-based Pălincă distillates enriched with honey, blackthorn, rosehip, or wood-associated materials under controlled artisanal conditions. Chemometric tools were applied to evaluate ingredient- and process-related differentiation, while target hazard quotient and hazard index calculations were retained as a concise screening-level elemental safety assessment. Honey enrichment produced the strongest compositional changes, mainly reflected by increased soluble solids, conductivity, turbidity, chromatic intensity, and mineral content, together with lower final alcoholic strength. Fruit-macerated and mixed honey-botanical beverages were associated with higher phenolic content and antioxidant activity. ICP-MS profiling highlighted potassium as the dominant macroelement, while Cu, Fe, Zn, and Mn were the main technological trace elements. Potentially toxic elements remained at low concentrations, and the screening-level THQ/HI assessment indicated low non-carcinogenic elemental risk under the applied exposure scenario. Overall, the results show that ICP-MS elemental profiling can support the technological and ingredient-related differentiation of experimental Pălincă-based beverages, while toxicological interpretation should remain limited to elemental exposure screening.