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A comparison of the antioxidant activities and biomonitoring of heavy metals by pollen in the urban environments

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Abstract

Pollen is one of the most valuable nutrients due to its content and antioxidant activity. In this study, its botanic origin, total phenol content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), the hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity (HPSA) (in terms of SC50), ferric reducing antioxidant power capacity (FRAP), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity (in terms of SC50), metal-chelating activity (MCA) (%), and heavy metal content were examined to determine the quality of pollen that has been collected from seven different cities of Turkey. According to the melissopalynological analysis, the botanic origin of samples is six uni-flora and one multiflora. The TPC, TFC, HPSA, FRAP, DPPH, and MCA were found between 1360.70–2981.34 mg GAE/100 g, 74.23–111.74 mg CAE/100 g, 25.56–30.28 μg/mL, 71.92–73.86%, 52.26–53.27 μg/mL, and 43.97–65.21%, respectively. When obtained results compared to the standards (Butylated Hydroxy Anisole (BHA), Butylated Hydroxy Toluene (BHT) and α-Tocopherol (TOC)), pollen samples showed the effective antioxidant properties with respect to HPSA, FRAP, and DPPH radical scavenging activity. In addition, it was observed that honey samples were being contaminated with most of the metals to some extent (Al, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, B, As, Te, U), while some heavy metals (Co, Cd, V, Ga, and Ag) were never determined in all samples. However, Pb was determined only in sample 2 and sample 4, Mo in sample 1 and sample 2. According to meteorological parameters, samples 3, 4, and 5 were distinguished from the other samples. Finally, the data indicate that pollen could be affected by environmental pollutions.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Giresun University for providing the opportunity to research. The authors are grateful to Feyza Çolakoğlu from the University of Sidney for their kind help with the English language. The authors wish to extend our thanks to the English-editing-service of Turkey.

Funding

This work was financed by a scholarship of the Giresun University for support of Scientific/Technological Research (FEN-BAP-A-140316-80).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Vocational High School of Health Services, Program of Emergency and First Aid, Giresun University, 28200, Giresun, Turkey

    İlginç Kızılpınar Temizer & Aytaç Güder

  2. Engineering Faculty, Department of Environmental Engineering, Giresun University, 28200, Giresun, Turkey

    Fulya Aydın Temel

  3. Science and Art Faculty, Department of Statistics, Giresun University, 28200, Giresun, Turkey

    Esin AVCI

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  1. İlginç Kızılpınar Temizer
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  2. Aytaç Güder
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Correspondence to Fulya Aydın Temel.

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Temizer, İ.K., Güder, A., Temel, F.A. et al. A comparison of the antioxidant activities and biomonitoring of heavy metals by pollen in the urban environments. Environ Monit Assess 190, 462 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-018-6829-6

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