FEATURES OF ORGANOCHLORINE PESTICIDES RESIDUES ACCUMULATION IN MELLIFEROUS PLANTS, BEE POLLEN AND HONEY

Abstract

Honey is natural product, which is produced by honeybees and due to contain of minerals, vitamins, simple sugars, organic acids, antioxidants and enzymes, it is considered as product with good nutritional and therapeutic properties. All beneficial characteristics of honey are reduced if it is contaminated with extraneous chemicals include pesticides. The purpose of this research was to study pesticides residues accumulation in the flowers of different types of melliferous plants, bee pollen and honey obtained from Odessa Region during 2015–2017 years. A total of 121 samples of flowers of melliferous plants and trees, 78 samples of bee pollen and 104 samples of honey were investigated with gas-liquid chromatography method. We found that all investigated samples were positive to such organochlorine pesticides as α, β, γ–isomers of hexachlorocyclohexane and dichlorodiphenyltrichloromethylmethane and its derivatives in different concentration. Our studies determined that high level of organochlorine pesticides was in samples of sunflower flowers whith average concentrations of α, β, γ–isomers of hexachlorocyclohexane 7.51±0.04 μg/kg, and DDT 6.98±0.02 μg/kg. Flowers of buckwheat and others field herbs (including as wild herbs as fodder crops) had even less concentration of these pesticides. Besides, the obtained results show that in the flowers of fruit trees (cherry, apple, pear, cherry, peach, cherry plum) had less concentration of studied pesticides in compere to forest trees (white acacia, linden). The results of bee pollen and honey samples examination have shown the same situation. The highest concentration of α, β, γ–isomers of hexachlorocyclohexane and dichlorodiphenyltrichloromethylmethane was in sample from sunflower origine with average consentration 3.52±0.05 and 3.77±0.03 μg/kg in bee pollen, 2.74±0.01 and 2.53±0.03μg/kg in honey respectively. However, the detected concentrations of pesticide residues in all samples were lower than the maxim admissibile limits, according to national and EU standards. Despite this, we suggest that regularly monitoring of pesticide residues in melliferous plants and apiculture products at national level need to grantee of quality and safety of honey and protection of consumers` health.