ABSTRACT In order to determine the degree of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon pollution, a biomonitoring study was conducted using honey as a bioindicator. Bees are good bioindicators of environmental pollution, either via the presence of toxic molecules in their bodies or via the presence of residues in their products. In this study we investigated 10 honey samples collected from polluted and unpolluted areas in Herzegovina region for their contamination with 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Extraction was done in ultrasonic bath and was followed by chromatographic analysis by HPLC with UV/Vis detector. Results showed no presence of PAHs in six honey samples, while in four of them we detected low PAH concentrations with maximum values never higher than 7 µgkg−1 of fresh weight for the honey. Benzo⦋a⦌pyrene, which is the most potentially carcinogenic PAH, was detected in one sample. Indeno[1,2,3-c,d]pyrene was found in all samples where PAHs were detected in the range < LOD to 2.56 µgkg−1 FW. Concentrations of all PAHs detected in investigated honey samples were low and safe to consume. The results of this study show that honey can be used as a bioindicator to assess environmental pollution.

中文翻译：

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监测黑塞哥维那地区多环芳烃对蜂蜜的污染

摘要 为了确定多环芳烃污染的程度，使用蜂蜜作为生物指示剂进行了一项生物监测研究。蜜蜂是环境污染的良好生物指标，无论是通过它们体内存在有毒分子还是通过其产品中存在残留物。在这项研究中，我们调查了从黑塞哥维那地区污染和未污染地区收集的 10 份蜂蜜样品，它们被 16 种多环芳烃 (PAH) 污染。在超声波浴中进行萃取，然后通过带有紫外/可见检测器的 HPLC 进行色谱分析。结果显示六个蜂蜜样品中不存在多环芳烃，而在其中四个样品中，我们检测到低多环芳烃浓度，最大值从未超过蜂蜜鲜重的 7 µgkg-1。苯并⦋a⦌芘，这是最有潜在致癌性的 PAH，在一个样本中被检测到。在所有检测到多环芳烃的样品中都发现了茚并 [1,2,3-c,d] 芘，检测范围为 < LOD 至 2.56 µgkg-1 FW。在调查的蜂蜜样品中检测到的所有多环芳烃的浓度都很低，可以安全食用。这项研究的结果表明，蜂蜜可以作为评估环境污染的生物指标。