Honey varieties vs metal and pesticide content - literature review and own research.

Abstract

Introduction and objective: Although monofloral honeys are regarded as more valuable than multifloral types, they lack a clear uniform definition in European countries concerning the proportions of predominant pollen types. In addition, honey contains various secondary plant metabolites, enzymes and co-enzymes, which provide health-promoting properties; however, it can also accumulate heavy metals and pesticide residues.

Review methods: A literature review was performed using the databases PubMed, Google Scholar concerning the content of metals in the soil, flower and bee pollen in varietal honey. Literature was collected on the influence of pesticides contained in honey on their impact on the human health. Own research selected three varieties of Polish monofloral honey (linden, black locust, rapeseed), which were analyzed using a spectrometer to determine the concentration Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Zn.

Brief description of the state of knowledge: Literature data indicate that a polluted or treated environment can contribute to the accumulation of inter alia heavy metals and pesticides in pollen, honey, beeswax, and the honeybee itself. Such contamination is influenced by various environmental factors, e.g. contaminants from the flower can be passed to the bee though contact with contaminated pollen and incorporated in honey. However, in the monofloral honeys analysed in this study, there were combinations of health-promoting elements that exert synergistic effects.

Summary: The results obtained provide new qualitative and quantitative data on the composition and potential contamination of varietal honeys over the past 10 years, a period characterised by legislative changes aimed at reducing pesticide and metal contamination of terrestrial ecosystems.