Evaluation of antibiotic residues in honey: a systematic review and meta-analysis

ABSTRACT

Nowadays, incorrect apply of antibiotics to treat infections in honey has led to health risks for humans and antibiotic resistance. Current systematic review and meta-analysis conducted to study antibiotic residues in honey. Data were obtained through searching the databases, including Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and other internal databases. The pooled concentration of antibiotic residues was 5.032 (µg/kg) that ranged from 4.72 to 5.33 (µg/kg). The ranking of antibiotics concentration was found in order of fluoroquinolone (8.59 µg/kg) > tetracycline (5.68 µg/kg) > sulfonamides (5.54 µg/kg) > macrolides (4.19µg/kg), respectively. Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) method (37.9.7%), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method (34.4%), and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method (27.5.8%) were the most used methods in various studies. In order to avoid contamination, proper use of antibiotics, placement of hives at a suitable distance from agricultural environment, and regular control of antibiotic residues in honey seems to be necessary.

KEYWORDS:

• Veterinary drugs
• health risks
• antibiotic
• honey, food safety

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the Deputy of Research and Technology, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences for their financial support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Authorship contribution statement

F.M and F.SH: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing – original draft, Project administration. E.T and Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation, Writing – review & editing.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.