Abstract
Bee health and beehive products’ quality are compromised by complex interactions between multiple stressors, among which toxic elements play an important role. The aim of this study is to optimize and validate sensible and reliable analytical methods for biomonitoring studies and the quality control of beehive products. Four digestion procedures, including two systems (microwave oven and water bath) and different mixture reagents, were evaluated for the determination of the total content of 40 elements in bees and five beehive products (beeswax, honey, pollen, propolis and royal jelly) by using inductively coupled plasma mass and optical emission spectrometry. Method validation was performed by measuring a standard reference material and the recoveries for each selected matrix. The water bath-assisted digestion of bees and beehive products is proposed as a fast alternative to microwave-assisted digestion for all elements in biomonitoring studies. The present study highlights the possible drawbacks that may be encountered during the elemental analysis of these biological matrices and aims to be a valuable aid for the analytical chemist. Total elemental concentrations, determined in commercially available beehive products, are presented.
Highlights
Various natural and anthropogenic emission sources of toxic elements may cause air pollution [1,2,3,4,5,6].Among different air pollution monitoring techniques, biomonitoring has recently become one of the most widely used technique, due to its ease of operation, low cost, efficiency and specificity [7,8,9,10]
To date the validation of methods and procedures used for the analysis of bees and beehive products is difficult because no certified reference material (CRM) of these matrices is available
The aim of this study is to compare different methods of sample preparation, including two systems and different mixture reagents, which will allow the assessment of the exposure of bees to different element concentrations and the quality control of beehive products in terms of contamination made by toxic elements in both routine and large-scale investigations
Summary
Among different air pollution monitoring techniques, biomonitoring has recently become one of the most widely used technique, due to its ease of operation, low cost, efficiency and specificity [7,8,9,10]. Several living organisms, known as biomonitors, can accumulate toxic elements, allowing the monitoring of pollutants concentrations in the environment for integrated measurements over time [11,12,13]. Trace elements can be transferred to honeybees and beehive products from all the environmental compartments (soil, vegetation, air and water) in the areas covered by forager honeybees [24], within which honeybees and beehive products may supply integrated representative samples [25].
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