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Assessment of environmental impact on essential and toxic elements composition in natural honeys by using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

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Abstract

The quality of natural honey depends upon many factors with significant contribution of environmental factors. In this study, environmental impact on the quality of honey was assessed by determining concentrations of 11 essential and 17 toxic elements in 24 different honey samples of northern and southern regions of Pakistan and Turkey using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Statistical analysis showed higher variance in the concentrations of Cu, P, and Mo (essential), and Ga, Rb, Cs, Ba, and Pb (toxic) among all the honey samples (coefficient of variance > 100). Multivariate comparison based on botanical flora, honey bee species, and geographic regions revealed that the honeys of different botanical flora exhibited statistically nonsignificant difference in elemental composition, whereas, species wise, honeys of Apis dorsata contained significantly higher concentration of P than honeys of Apis mellifera and Apis flora (p < 0.01). Geographical regions wise, the honeys showed statistically significant difference in concentrations of six essential elements (K (p < 0.01), Mn (p < 0.001), Fe (p < 0.001), Cu (p < 0.05), P (p < 0.001), and Mo (p < 0.01)), and two toxic elements (V (p < 0.01) and As (p < 0.05)). Principal component analysis (PCA) using the essential elements contents clustered uni-floral honeys together separating out 3 multi-floral honeys including the artificial one, whereas PCA using concentrations of toxic elements showed mixed clustering of all honey samples, representing their independence of floral type. Taken together, our analyses show that the environmental factors of the geographical regions, apart from the honeybee species and the botanical flora, have profound impact on the elemental composition in the natural honeys affecting their quality. Although the concentrations of the toxic elements in the honey samples were not exceeding the permissible limit of FAO/WHO, yet we suggest regular surveillance on toxic elements in the honeys to avoid their harmful effects on human health.

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Acknowledgments

We hereby acknowledge Prof. Dr. M. Kamran Azim of Muhammad Ali Jinnah University, Karachi, Pakistan, for providing honey samples of Mugla, Turkey.

Availability of data and materials

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article and its supplementary information files.

Funding

No dedicated funding was received from any source for this study. The analyses were carried out using the institutional core mass spectrometry facility.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. H.E.J. Research Institute of Chemistry, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan

    Atia Gohar

  2. Jamil-ur-Rahman Center for Genome Research, Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, ICCBS, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan

    Muhammad Shakeel

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  1. Atia Gohar
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Contributions

AG conceived the study, prepared the honey samples for ICP-MS, analyzed data, performed literature review, and wrote the manuscript. MS obtained the honey samples, performed statistical analysis, prepared graphical work, and wrote the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Atia Gohar.

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Supplementary Information

Supplementary Fig. S.1

Environmental sources of addition of toxic elements into natural honey [Physicochemical Properties, Minerals, Trace Elements, and Heavy Metals in Honey of Different Origins: A Comprehensive Review]. (PNG 422 kb)

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Supplementary Fig. S.2

Correlation regression among the dilutions of elements’ standards (JPEG 407 kb)

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Fig. S2c

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Fig. S2d

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Supplementary Fig. S.3

Co-efficient of variance in the concentration of honey samples. A. Essential elements, B. Toxic elements (PNG 475 kb)

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Supplementary Fig. S.4

Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to determine the botanical origin of the honey samples. Honey samples from regions of same province (Kohat and Swat) grouped together. (PNG 117 kb)

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Supplementary Fig. S.5A

Boxplot comparing the concentrations of essential elements in multi-floral and uni-floral honeys. (PNG 409 kb)

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Supplementary Fig. S.5B

Boxplot comparing the concentrations of essential elements in honeys of Apis dorsata, Apis flora, and Apis mellifera. ** ANOVA p < 0.01 (PNG 513 kb)

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Supplementary Fig. S.5C

Boxplot comparing the concentrations of essential elements in honeys from three geographical regions, KPK (Pakistan), Sindh (Sindh), and Turkey. * ANOVA p < 0.05, ** ANOVA p < 0.01, *** ANOVA p < 0.001 (PNG 156 kb)

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Supplementary Fig. S.6A

Boxplot comparing the concentrations of toxic elements in multi-floral and uni-floral honeys. (PNG 583 kb)

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Supplementary Fig. S.6B

Boxplot comparing the concentrations of toxic elements in honeys of Apis dorsata, Apis flora, and Apis mellifera. (PNG 640 kb)

High resolution image (TIF 2142 kb)

Supplementary Fig. S.6C

Boxplot comparing the concentrations of toxic elements in honeys from three geographical regions, KPK (Pakistan), Sindh (Sindh), and Turkey. * ANOVA p < 0.05, ** ANOVA p < 0.01, *** ANOVA p < 0.001 (PNG 172 kb)

High resolution image (TIF 1980 kb)

Supplementary Fig. S.7

Heatmap analysis using the concentration of essential elements in honey samples. (PNG 278 kb)

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Gohar, A., Shakeel, M. Assessment of environmental impact on essential and toxic elements composition in natural honeys by using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 15794–15805 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11688-x

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