RESEARCH PAPER
Occurrence of mercury in various types of honey
1
Śląski Uniwersytet Medyczny, Polska
Corresponding author
Med Srod. 2020;23(1-4):39-43
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Introduction and objective:
At the present time, natural medicine is flourishing. This branch of medicine is generally considered as cheap, easily accessible and safe. Apitherapy is the type of natural medicine which uses honey bee products (propolis, honey), collected by bees from various types of plants. This is the reason why honey can be potentially contaminated by heavy metals, e.g. mercury. The aim of the study was evaluation of mercury content in various types of honey. The intake of Hg during the consumption of the examined types of honey was estimated.
Material and methods:
The study included 32 honey samples collected in several provinces in Poland: Zielona Góra, Kraków, Katowice, Rzeszów, and Kielce. These were different types of honey. From each sample 100 mg of honey was weighted and mercury content determined by atomic absorption spectrometer AMA 254.
Results:
The study confirmed the presence of mercury in all examined samples; mean value 0.32 µg/kg. The highest content of mercury was found in honeydew honey – 1.55 µg/kg, while the lowest in goldenrod honey – 0.02 µg/kg. The daily dose of mercury consumed with diet was calculated. The TWI value was not exceed in any of the samples.
Conclusions:
The allowable mercury content was not exceeded in the examined honey samples. Due to constantly increasing environmental pollution it is necessary to more thoroughly monitor the content of mercury in honey and other bee products, in order to ensure total safety of their consumption by humans.
At the present time, natural medicine is flourishing. This branch of medicine is generally considered as cheap, easily accessible and safe. Apitherapy is the type of natural medicine which uses honey bee products (propolis, honey), collected by bees from various types of plants. This is the reason why honey can be potentially contaminated by heavy metals, e.g. mercury. The aim of the study was evaluation of mercury content in various types of honey. The intake of Hg during the consumption of the examined types of honey was estimated.
Material and methods:
The study included 32 honey samples collected in several provinces in Poland: Zielona Góra, Kraków, Katowice, Rzeszów, and Kielce. These were different types of honey. From each sample 100 mg of honey was weighted and mercury content determined by atomic absorption spectrometer AMA 254.
Results:
The study confirmed the presence of mercury in all examined samples; mean value 0.32 µg/kg. The highest content of mercury was found in honeydew honey – 1.55 µg/kg, while the lowest in goldenrod honey – 0.02 µg/kg. The daily dose of mercury consumed with diet was calculated. The TWI value was not exceed in any of the samples.
Conclusions:
The allowable mercury content was not exceeded in the examined honey samples. Due to constantly increasing environmental pollution it is necessary to more thoroughly monitor the content of mercury in honey and other bee products, in order to ensure total safety of their consumption by humans.
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