Environmental contaminants of honeybee products in Uganda detected using LC-MS/MS and GC-ECD

Abstract

Pollinator services and the development of beekeeping as a poverty alleviating tool have gained considerable focus in recent years in sub-Saharan Africa. An improved understanding of the pervasive environmental extent of agro-chemical contaminants is critical to the success of beekeeping development and the production of clean hive products. This study developed and validated a multi-residue method for screening 36 pesticides in honeybees, honey and beeswax using LC-MS/MS and GC-ECD. Of the 36 screened pesticides, 20 were detected. The highest frequencies occurred in beeswax and in samples from apiaries located in the proximity of citrus and tobacco farms. Fungicides were the most prevalent chemical class. Detected insecticides included neonicotinoids, organophosphates, carbamates, organophosphorus, tetrazines and diacylhydrazines. All detected pesticide levels were below maximum residue limits (according to EU regulations) and the lethal doses known for honeybees. However, future risk assessment is needed to determine the health effects on the African genotype of honeybees by these pesticide classes and combinations of these. In conclusion, our data present a significant challenge to the burgeoning organic honey sector in Uganda, but to achieve this, there is an urgent need to regulate the contact routes of pesticides into the beehive products. Interestingly, the “zero” detection rate of pesticides in the Mid-Northern zone is a significant indicator of the large potential to promote Ugandan organic honey for the export market.

Evaluation of 99 Pesticide Residues in Major Agricultural Products from the Western Highlands Zone of Cameroon Using QuEChERS Method Extraction and LC-MS/MS and GC-ECD Analyses

“…The protocol was adapted from Amulen et al [25]. Separation was performed on a HP-5MS (5% phenyl methyl siloxane) capillary column (30 m × 0.25 mm, 0.25 μm).…”

Pesticides use, practice and its effect on honeybee in Ethiopia: a review

“…Different scientific documents reported that pesticide residues(contamination) in honey, wax, bee brood, pollen, and bees in several countries (Chauzat et al 2006;Martel et al 2007;Frazier et al 2008;Mullin et al 2010;Wiest et al 2011;Ostiguy and Eitzer 2014;Porrini et al 2016;Amulen et al 2017;Valdovinos-Flores et al 2017).…”

Pesticide distribution and depletion kinetic determination in honey and beeswax: Model for pesticide occurrence and distribution in beehive products

“…Multiple studies reporting the residue concentrations of pesticides in beehive products, mainly beeswax, honey and pollen, have been published in the last decade [6, 10–20]. The majority of the studies, which surveyed beeswax and honey simultaneously from the same beehives, reported lower pesticide contamination of honey as compared with that of beeswax, in which pesticide concentrations occasionally reaching values of up to several dozens of mg/kg [18–20]. Despite the yearly application of hundreds of approved pesticides in agricultural fields in Europe (e.g., 331 synthetic organic pesticides in 2016), only a small fraction of these active ingredients were actually screened in honey and beeswax samples (≤ 30%) in Europe [18–21].…”