Detection of Multiple Antibiotic Residues in Turkish Pine and Blossom Honeys Using LC–MS/MS Method

Abstract

Due to the high demand for honey, beekeepers often feed the bees with antibiotics to protect honeybees against illnesses; determination of veterinary drugs and their residues in bee products especially in honey is gaining importance. In this study, commercially available 15 different brands, a total of 22 honey (14 blossoms and 8 pines) samples obtained from 5 chain supermarkets in city of Bingöl and Diyarbakır, Turkey were analysed for 29 antibiotic residues. These antibiotics belonging to 10 different categories, including tetracyclines, aminoglycosides, macrolides, sulfonamides, fluoroquinolones, benzimidazoles, anthelmintic, amphenicols, quinolines, and oxazolidines. For the qualitative and quantitative determination of the antibiotics, a triple quadrupole liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS) was used. A total of 10 out of 22 honey (8 blossom, 57.14% and 2 pine, 25%) samples were found to be positive for antibiotics. Among the tested antibiotics, tetracycline, dihydrostreptomycin, streptomycin, erythromycin, and sulfadimidine were detected in the honey samples. Dihydrostreptomycin and sulfadimidine were detected in 6 samples, erythromycin was determined in 4 samples, streptomycin was found in 2 samples, and lastly tetracycline was detected only in one sample. Good linearities were also achieved ranging between R2 = 0.987 and 0.999.