Determination of Arsenic in Honey, Propolis, Pollen, and Honey Bees by Microwave Digestion and Hydride Generation Flame Atomic Absorption

ABSTRACT

The toxic properties of arsenic are well known. Honey has been widely used for monitoring this element. The present work reports a novel method for the determination of arsenic in honey, bees, pollen, and propolis, based on the coupling of microwave digestion and hydride generation. Method development included the quantitative reduction of arsenic(V) to arsenic(III), the acid used for dilution, and the complete removal of the gases following digestion. The method performance was satisfactory with recoveries between 83% and 111% and corresponding relative standard deviations between 3.1% and 24%. Among the 32 samples of honey, propolis, pollen, and honey bees analyzed, arsenic was detected in four out of six propolis samples at the method limit of detection (0.4 µg g⁻¹). The results indicate that propolis may be an efficient indicator for arsenic.

KEYWORDS:

• Bioindicators
• hive products
• hydride generation-atomic absorption spectrometry (HG-AAS)
• toxic elements

Acknowledgments

The assistance of Dr. A. Papachristoforou, the beekeepers who provided all the samples, and the companies that partly supported this project, Anel Standard Pantelakis (Beekeeping equipment) and APIVITA SA (Bee Products & Herbs), are acknowledged.