Various drug residues in honey and their currently most common detection techniques - A mini-review

Abstract

Honey is a natural product made by honeybees, containing numerous simple sugars, organic acids, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and enzymes, which provide good nutritional and medicinal qualities. Honey that has come into contact with foreign substances like pesticides, or antibiotics loses a lot of its beneficial properties. In addition to their advantages and significance in agriculture, pesticide use has escalated recently and has a detrimental effect on bees and the items they produce. Controlling the presence of pesticide residues is necessary since beekeeping and agricultural practices might contaminate bee products with pesticides. In apiculture, antibiotics are used to shield bees from a range of diseases that affect their young. Due to the emergence of oxytetracycline resistance, erythromycin and tylosin are being utilized more frequently for the prevention of as well as the care of these illnesses. More than 35% of all pesticides sold worldwide are fungicides, and usage of these products is expected to rise in the coming years. The purpose of this paper was to present and classify the main classes of compounds found in honey and to highlight the main residue detection techniques used currently in honey quality control.

Keywords

• honey residues
• detection techniques
• antibiotics in honey
• pesticides