Soheil Sobhanardakani
1*, Mona Kianpour
11 Department of the Environment, College of Basic Sciences, Hamedan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Hamedan, Iran
*Corresponding Author: * Corresponding author: Soheil Sobhanardakani, Department of the Environment, College of Basic Sciences, Hamedan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Hamedan, Iran. Tel: +98-8134494043, Fax: +98-8134494170, Email:
s_sobhan@iauh.ac.ir
Abstract
Since the worldwide research on content of heavy metals in honey is narrow, this study was carried out to analyze heavy metals (Cd,
Cr, Ni, and Zn) in honey and assess its associated health risk in Hamadan City, Iran, in 2015. Totally, 15 freshly ripened samples of
honey were analyzed for heavy metals using ICP-OES with three replications after burning to ash and digesting with dilute nitric
acid. The potential health index was then calculated. The results showed that the mean levels of Cd, Cr, Ni, and Zn in the honey
samples were 63.18 ± 43.39, 58.05 ± 30.32, 56.15 ± 54.32, and 684.43 ± 190.43 µg kg-1, respectively. Also, the health risk assessment
showed no potential risk for children and adults in relation to the consumption of honey in the studied region. According to the
results of the current study, although there is no adverse effect for the local population through the consumption of honey, due to
the increased discharge of pollutants especially heavy metals into the natural environment, it is very important to assess foodstuff
before release to the consumer market