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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.28936/jmracpc13.2.2021.(10)
ALmaaly.
EFFECT OF LOCAL HONEY PRODUCTION AREAS ON ITS CONTENT OF SOME
HEAVY METALS
Raafat A. Abu- Almaaly
Lecturer, Department of Commodity Evaluation and Service Performance, Market Research and Consumer Protection Center, University of
Baghdad. Baghdad, Iraq. raafat@mracpc.uobaghdad.edu.iq
ABSTRACT
This study was conducted to estimate some heavy metals cadmium, lead, nickel
and iron in 15 samples of Iraqi honey with 3 replicates for each sample which were
collected from apiaries near potential contamination areas in five Iraqi governorates,
including Baghdad, Karbala, Babylon, Diyala and Salah al-Din. The atomic absorption
technique was used to estimate the concentrations of heavy metals, the results showed
that there were significant differences at (P≤0.05) between the concentrations of these
elements in the honey samples, the highest concentrations of cadmium 0.123 mg/kg were
recorded in Baghdad, near the petrochemical production complex, lead 4.657 mg/kg and
nickel 0.023 mg/kg in Babylon near the power plant, iron was 1.863 mg/kg in Karbala
near the waste collection and incineration plant, and all the concentrations of cadmium
and lead in the studied honey samples were higher than the acceptable limits set by the
European Commission Regulation.
Keywords: Honey, heavy metals, pollution.
This work is licensed under a CCBY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Received 16/ 10/ 2021, Accepted 24/ 11/ 2021, Published 31/ 12/ 2021
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raafat@mracpc.uobaghdad.edu.iq
(P≤0.05) mg/kgmg/kg
mg/kgmg/kg
INTRODUCTION
Honey is one of the oldest known natural foods that humans use it as a complete food
all over the world, it is used in various drugs and medicines to treat many diseases (Patial et
al., 2018), according to the European Commission (2001), honey is the natural sweet-tasting
substance produced by honey bees (Apismelifera) from the nectar of plants or from some living
secretions of plants, as honey bees absorb the nectar and collect it inside a special bag with
certain special substances, then it secretes it outside the bag to be deposited, dried and stored
inside the honeycomb discs to mature. The main nutritional components in honey make it easy
to digest, the most important of which are trans sugars such as glucose and fructose, which
provide the body with energy, as well as secondary components that are considered useful
nutrients such as proteins, amino acids, vitamins, oils, volatile chemical compounds,
flavonoids, phenols, and minerals (Baglio 2018), in addition to its high nutritional value, honey
is one of the foods with unique therapeutic properties. It is used in traditional medicine to treat
diabetic ulcers, external wounds, some allergic conditions, pharyngitis, coughs, and digestive
problems. It has antimicrobial properties (Alvarez-Suarez et al., 2010). The quality of honey
and its biochemical properties depend on the source of nectar that the bee absorbs, the
geographical area, climatic conditions, maturity period, production methods, processing and
storage conditions (Oses et al., 2016), and to ensure its safety as a food, honey must be free
from any undesirable pollutants such as heavy metals, the presence of which has recently
become more evident in many foods, including honey, and because it has a long biological
half-life and is unable to degrade in the environment, it is included in the food cycle of plants,
animals and humans, the process of consuming food is the main way for these minerals to
reach the human body, and long-term consumption of food contaminated with heavy metals
such as arsenic, lead, mercury, cadmium and others causes the accumulation of these minerals
in the various organs of the body, causing serious damage to public health, it may lead to the
development of cancer, cardiovascular and neurological disorders, and significant risks to the
growth and development of fetuses (Abu- Almaaly & Al-Tamimi 2020; Mahmoudi et al.,
2015), the concentration of heavy metals in honey depends on the geographical origin and the
environment in which the flower grows, and its presence indicates that the beehives were near
the sources of pollution, the conditions of air movement and the soil in the region play an
important role in increasing the pollution of honey with metals. The honey bee flies and covers
This work is licensed under a CCBY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Received 16/ 10/ 2021, Accepted 24/ 11/ 2021, Published 31/12/ 2021
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large areas and contacts many surfaces during its activity to search for nectar, so it is the main
carrier of heavy metals to beehives and honey (Roman & Popiela 2011), the impact of heavy
metal pollution as a result of industrial, agricultural and commercial activity on the health of
bees and the quality and safety of honey has been documented due to its exposure to potential
pollutants from industrial areas, the use of fertilizers and pesticides during agriculture, waste
collection and treatment areas, and proximity to electrical stations and highways, which affects
air and soil pollution, consequently, it pollutes the flowering plants that grow near those areas
(Lambert et al., 2012; Alisawi 2013), this makes the study of honey contamination extremely
important in the field of food safety, especially if we take into account that the majority of
honey consumers are among sensitive groups such as children, adolescents, pregnant and
lactating women and the elderly,in addition to its widespread use in most therapeutic foods and
medical preparations for all age groups (Silici et al., 2013), in view of the wide geographical
area in which honey is produced in Iraq from north to south and the different environmental
and geographical conditions and economic and consumer activity among them, the study aimed
to show the impact of honey production areas in some Iraqi cities in its content of some heavy
metals.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Sample collection
Fifteen samples of local honey were collected with 3 replicates for each sample from 5
Iraqi governorates (Baghdad, Karbala, Babilon, Diyala, Salah al-Din), in the period March to
May, 2020, from honey production apiaries closest to the potential contamination sites, as
shown in (Table 1), samples (100 g for each) were collected from each governorate, taken from
3 sites close to the pollution areas, and these replicates were mixed together to form one
representative sample for each of those governorates, the samples were placed in clean glass
containers, and observations were recorded on them, then transferred to the laboratory to be
kept in the refrigerator at 4°C until the required analyzes are performed on them.
Table (1): Details of honey samples.
Possible contamination sites
Sample code
No. of samples
Governorates
Petrochemical production complex
S1
3
Baghdad
Industrial waste incineration
S2
3
Karbala
Electrical power plant
S3
3
Babilon
Oil extraction and refining complex
S4
3
Diyala
Fertilizers and pesticides production
S5
3
Salah al-Din
Preparation of samples and standard solutions and determination of heavy metals
The method adopted by Chandrama et al. (2014), where 5 g of each sample was
placed in a silica dish and the dishes were slowly heated on a hot plate until it was completely
burned, the dishes were transferred to the incineration oven, which was set at 450°C, for two
hr, until the samples turned to ash, the ashes of each sample were placed in a ceramic jar, and a
small amount of concentrated HCl was added to it for the purpose of extracting minerals. It
was placed on a hot plate to evaporate and dry, and the ashes would turn white, then the
extraction process was repeated a second time by adding 10 mL of acid HCl (25%) and
filtering the resulting solution and then completing the amount to 50 mL by adding more acid
HCl, this solution was used for the determination of the heavy metals lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd),
iron (Fe) and nickel (Ni), standard solutions of the elements were prepared according to the
instructions of the supplied company, and the concentrations of heavy elements were analyzed
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and measured twice for all samples under study by using Shimadzu AA-6200 supplied with
ASC 6100 auto sampler atomic absorption spectrometer equipped with acetylene gas.
Statistical analysis
The Statistical Analysis System (SAS 2012) program was used to detect the effect of
difference factors in study parameters. Least significant difference-LSD test (Analysis of
Variation-ANOVA) was used to significant compare between means in this study.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The rates of heavy metals concentrations in honey samples according to potential
contamination areas show in (Table 2). Each result represents an average of three samples
collected randomly from a specific area, and heavy metal concentrations were compared with
the acceptable limits set by the European Commission Regulation (2006), depending on the
results of this study, the rates of cadmium concentrations in honey samples ranged between
0.073 to 0.132 mg/kg, all of which are higher than the acceptable limits approved by European
Commission Regulation (2006) of 0.05 mg/kg, and significant differences appeared at the
level (P<0.05) between the concentrations of this element according to the honey samples in
the potential contamination areas, it is clear from (Figure 1), that the highest pollution levels
were in sample S1 (0.132 mg/kg) in Baghdad near the petrochemical complex and sample S5
(0.126 mg/kg) in Salah al-Din near the fertilizer and pesticide production plants. Dhahir &
Hemed (2015) reported that cadmium concentrations in Iraqi honey samples ranged between
0.210 to 0.894 mg/kg. Alisawi (2013) in his study of Iraqi honey, indicated that the cadmium
concentration ranged between 0.208 to 0.571 mg/kg, he explained that the high concentration
of this element in honey in some governorates may be due to the large number of materials
containing its compounds, such as plastic waste that is spread widely, waste of used and
damaged batteries, the frequent circulation of dyes, and even the smoke of many cigarettes that
contains significant levels of cadmium, the results of the study of Mahmoudi et al. (2015) in
fertilizer production areas and Bartha et al. (2020), near the industrial waste collection areas,
the cadmium concentration in honey samples was 0.131 and 0.125 mg/kg, respectively, for the
two studies, while the percentage of cadmium contamination in Ethiopian honey samples
increased to 3.021 mg/kg in areas close to phosphate fertilizer production plants (Nega et al.,
2020). Lead is a non-essential element in the human body, and it is known that its
accumulation in the tissues and organs of the body can cause neurotoxicity, anemia, and danger
to the liver and kidneys, as well as other serious symptoms (Public Health England 2019),
lead concentrations in honey samples under study ranged between 2.492 to 4.657 mg/kg as
shown in the (Table 2), significant differences were recorded at (P≤0.05) between the
concentrations of the samples, and all of them were higher than the acceptable limits approved
by European Commission Regulation (2006) of 0.5 mg/kg, the highest concentration of lead
was 4.657 mg/kg in sample S3 in Babylon, near a power plant, followed by the other samples
that were collected from areas near a complex for the production of petrochemicals, waste
treatment plants, oil production and refining sites, as well as those areas near plants for the
production of fertilizers and pesticides, as shown in (Figure 2), which shows the rates of lead
contamination of honey samples, both of Chandrama et al. (2014) and Salama et al. (2014),
pointed out the high concentration of lead in honey produced in contaminated areas similar to
what was mentioned above, reaching 4.22 and 5.14 mg/kg respectively, while the
concentrations of lead were low in all Iraqi honey samples, according to the study conducted
by the two researchers. Dhahir & Hemed (2015) it reached 0.108-0.820 mg/kg, while Alisawi
(2013), when he studying honey pollution in the areas of Najaf governorate in Iraq, stated that
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all samples were contaminated with varying concentrations of lead, ranging from 2.64 to 10.37
mg/kg, he pointed that the reason for this significant increase in the levels of this element in
Iraqi bee honey in the environment of Najaf governorate, whether in the air, soil or water, is
due to the increase in industrial and consumer activity of the population, because lead can be
found in any part of our environment, most cars depend on gasoline containing a high
percentage of lead, which volatilizes into the air, the air and many of our household waste,
according to what was confirmed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency
(1992), contains this toxic element, such as house and car paint, book and newspaper papers,
printer ink, water pipes, metal tanks, fertilizers, pesticides, and even some children’s toys, the
high levels of this pollution were recorded in Alisawi (2013) study in Kufa, and the high
concentration of lead may be due to the proximity of the apiary from which the honey was
collected from the Kufa cement factory, and the southeast winds that blow in the summer over
the place where bees fly can carry the smoke of the factory to the nectar collection area.
Nickel is one of the elements with low levels when it is present in the environment,
increased exposure to it can cause a range of health effects on the respiratory system such as
inflammation, lung fibrosis and tumors (European Commission 2001),the joint committee of
experts between FAW-WHO Organization, (2003) on food additives determined that the
level of nickel taken daily, whether through water, food or air, does not exceed 5 mg/kg of
body weight, as can be seen from the (Table 2) and (Figure 3), cadmium concentrations in all
honey samples in this study were within the acceptable limits approved by these organizations,
and ranged between 0.023 mg/kg in sample S3 and 0.002 mg/kg in sample S1, Dhahir &
Hemed (2015) indicated that the concentration of nickel 0.117 - 0.440 mg/kg in Iraqi honey
samples was higher than what was found in this study, and the results of the studies of Oroian
et al. (2016); Nega et al. (2020); Mahmoudi et al. (2015) approach to what was recorded by
this study, it recorded low cadmium concentrations of 0.026 mg/kg in Romania, 0.009 mg/kg
in Ethiopia and 0.087 mg/kg in Iran, respectively, for honey samples collected from its
production sites near industrial areas.
Iron is one of the vital essential minerals that have an important role in the activities of
the human body, and it is the basis for the formation of hemoglobin in the blood and is
necessary in the process of cellular respiration through the bloodstream (Abu-Almaaly 2019),
so, its percentage in foods should be within the acceptable limits and according to the body’s
need. The Codex Standard Alimentarius (1982), set the upper limit for iron concentration,
which is present in sweet nutrients such as honey, at 1.5 mg/kg, referring to (Table 2), the
honey samples under study recorded rates for this element ranging from 1.863 to 0.521 mg/kg
(Figure 4), and thus most of the samples are within the acceptable limits of iron concentration,
except for the sample S2, which was collected near the waste collection and burning areas,
which rose slightly from acceptable limits for iron, Spiricet al. (2019) and Oroian et al. (2016)
indicated that iron concentrations were high in honey samples collected in areas close to waste
collection and treatment plants and petrochemical industry complexes, reaching 3.94 and 2.51
mg/kg, respectively, while the study of Dhahir & Hemed (2015) recorded very low iron
concentrations in Iraqi honey samples were 0.002-0.034 mg/kg.
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Table (2): Concentration of heavy metals in local honey samples.
Heavy metals (mg/kg)
Samples
Range
Fe
Range
Ni
Range
Pb
Range
Cd
0.496-0.871
0.707
±0.08
b
0.001-0.003
0.002
±0.0007
b
2.974-4.185
3.637
±0. 14
b
0.108-0.125
0.132 ±0.06
a
S1
1.753-2.023
1.863
±0.10
a
0.011-0.025
0.016
±0.003
a
3.104-4.211
3.566 ±0.11
b
0.087-0.102
0.095 ±0.02
ab
S2
1.284-1.729
1.476
±0.08
a
0.019-0.032
0.023
±0.006
a
3.975-5.201
4.657 ±0.17
a
0.059- 0.094
0.073 ±0.01
b
S3
0.488-0.914
0.645
±0.08
b
0.004
-0.012
0.007
±0.001
b
2.334
-2.718
2.492 ±0.07
c
0.054
- 0.098
0.074 ±0.02
b
S4
0.398-0.752
0.521±0.07
b
0.009-0.013
0.011±0.
002 ab
3.243-4.015
3.558 ±0.12
b
0.098
-0.143
0.126 ±0.04
ab
S5
---
0.568 *
---
0.0113 *
---
0.892 *
---
0.0559 *
LSD
value
Means having with the different letters in same column differed significantly. * (P≤0.05).
The result is an average of three samples.
Figure (1): Cadmium concentrations in honey samples.
Figure (2): Lead concentrations in honey samples.
0
1
2
3
4
5
S1 S2 S3 S4 S5
Pb Concentrations
mg/kg
Honey samples
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
S1 S2 S3 S4 S5
Cd Concentrations
mg/kg
Honey samples
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Figure (3): Nickel Concentrations in Honey Samples.
Figure (4): Iron concentrations in honey samples.
CONCLUSION
The results of this study showed that the local honey samples contained varying
concentrations of heavy metals according to the areas of their collection. The concentrations of
cadmium were S1>S5>S2>S4>S3 in descending order, the highest concentration was recorded
in honey samples in Baghdad near the Petrochemical Production Complex, while the highest
concentrations of lead were recorded in Babylon near the power plant, followed by the rest of
the samples in descending order S3>S1>S5>S2>S4. The concentrations of nickel in the
Babylon honey samples were also higher than the rest of the governorates S3>S2>S5>S4>S1,
honey samples from Karbala near the waste treatment complex recorded the highest
concentrations of iron S2>S3>S1>S4>S5. From these results, it is clear that the pollution
caused by industrial areas, waste treatment places and power plants has a significant impact on
the surrounding environment as a whole, whether plants, animals or humans, and honey
apiaries should not be located in places close to industrial and commercial areas.
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