Overview
Salama et al. measured physicochemical properties and toxic metals in 24 bee-honey samples from eight locations in western Libya. The paper is direct honey occurrence evidence for lead, cadmium, mercury, and arsenic, reported as location-level means in mg/kg. Lead was the dominant toxic-metal signal, with location means from 2.42 to 10.98 mg/kg.
Key numbers
Table 2 reports all toxic-metal concentrations in mg/kg honey.
| Location code | Pb | Cd | Hg | As |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GR | 7.60 +/- 0.36 | 0.133 +/- 0.014 | 0.056 +/- 0.01 | 0.018 +/- 0.00 |
| BL | 10.98 +/- 0.52 | 0.141 +/- 0.012 | 0.021 +/- 0.04 | 0.014 +/- 0.01 |
| MS | 9.61 +/- 0.45 | 0.129 +/- 0.004 | 0.039 +/- 0.03 | 0.011 +/- 0.02 |
| RH | 3.67 +/- 0.39 | 0.150 +/- 0.030 | 0.098 +/- 0.02 | 0.013 +/- 0.00 |
| AB | 5.31 +/- 0.57 | 0.125 +/- 0.025 | 0.081 +/- 0.02 | 0.014 +/- 0.01 |
| AD | 6.32 +/- 0.41 | 0.133 +/- 0.014 | 0.048 +/- 0.01 | 0.006 +/- 0.00 |
| TC | 2.42 +/- 0.26 | 0.142 +/- 0.014 | 0.014 +/- 0.03 | 0.010 +/- 0.03 |
| TE | 8.10 +/- 1.58 | 0.125 +/- 0.000 | 0.100 +/- 0.04 | 0.012 +/- 0.04 |
The abstract summarizes ranges as Pb 2.42-10.98 mg/kg, Cd 0.125-0.150 mg/kg, Hg 0.021-0.10 mg/kg, and As 0.006-0.018 mg/kg. Table 2 includes a lower Hg location mean of 0.014 mg/kg for TC, so the table range is 0.014-0.100 mg/kg. Essential-element means were also reported: potassium 1120.1-1980.6 mg/kg, sodium 506.8-804.6 mg/kg, and calcium 923.92-1117.5 mg/kg in the abstract; Table 2 includes an MS calcium mean of 1133.8 mg/kg.
Methods (brief)
The study collected three honey samples from each of eight western Libya locations. Samples were stored in glass jars at 4 degrees C. For metal analysis, 1 g honey was digested with nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide in a microwave unit. Sodium, potassium, and calcium were measured by flame photometer, while Pb, Cd, Hg, and As were measured by atomic absorption spectroscopy.
Implications
Certification: This is routeable occurrence evidence for honey, especially for lead and cadmium. Values are reported on a honey-as-sold basis in mg/kg and should not be mixed with ug/kg data without unit conversion.
Courses: The paper illustrates how honey can be used as a local environmental-contaminant matrix and how lead findings can dominate a toxic-metal profile.
App: The honey ingredient/product profile can use this source as non-US context for Pb, Cd, Hg, and total arsenic occurrence.
Microbiome (if applicable): Not addressed.
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Verification notes
The PDF title, authors, DOI, year, journal, methods, and Table 2 values were read from the auto-fetched PDF. The paper reports total arsenic and mercury by atomic absorption spectroscopy; it does not provide inorganic arsenic or methylmercury speciation.
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