Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) Residues in the Honeybee, Honey, and Pollen and Estimation of Atmospheric Concentrations in Bursa, Turkey

Abstract

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations in urban and semi-urban areas were determined in the honeybee, honey and pollen in Bursa, Turkey. The total of 14 PAH (∑₁₄PAH) concentrations measured in the honeybee in the urban and semi-urban areas were 267.65 ± 74.15 ng/g (mean ± standard deviation) and 109.11 ± 19.86 ng/g, respectively. Similarly, the ∑₁₄PAH concentrations measured in honey were 650.24 ± 97.60 and 464.32 ± 57.92 ng/g, respectively, and measured in pollen were 304.32 ± 184.73 and 329.62 ± 154.24 ng/g, respectively. The PAH sources were determined using diagnostic ratios. According to the diagnostic ratios, it was concluded that the sources generally originated from the combustion of coal and biomass. In addition, the PAHs in both sampling areas showed a more dominant distribution in honey samples. The Pearson correlation coefficient method was applied to determine the relationships among the samples. According to the correlation results, there was a strong correlation between the honeybee and pollen samples in both sampling areas, while there were lower correlation results for the honey samples. Finally, atmospheric PAH concentrations were estimated using the leaf/air partition coefficients available in the literature with the help of pollen samples. According to the results obtained, it was determined that pollen samples can be used to estimate atmospheric PAH concentrations.

Keywords:

• Biomonitoring
• bee products
• honeybee
• PAHs

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Dr. M. Ertan Gunes and Emine Gurkan Ayyildiz for their successful help in the sampling and laboratory section. We want to extend our thanks Dr. Yucel Tasdemir for GC readings.

Disclosure statement

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

Author contributions

The manuscript was written through contributions of all authors and all authors have given approval to the final version of the manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the Turkish Scientific and Technological Research Council (TÜBİTAK) (project number 116Y208).