Analysis of monofleur honey for heavy metals content

Till the present time there are no works on the comprehensive chemical assessment of the varietal assortment of honey in Russia, though there are several hundreds of its varieties, selected in different geographic and soil-climatic zones of the country. Common buckwheat has a special place among bee plants; in a number of regions it provides bees with valuable honey flow. Among dark varieties of honey, buckwheat honey is considered to be especially valuable. It is usually of dark yellow colour with a reddish hue or even dark brown; it also has a peculiar flavour and specific taste. A high content of glucose (36.74%) and levulose (40.29%), as well as a higher amount of proteins and iron than in light varieties of honey, is a distinctive feature of honey made of buckwheat. In terms of the amount of essential amino acids, its nutritional value is 128-141% of the "FAO protein". The high nutritional value of buckwheat honey relative to the FAO standard was noted for tyrosine + phenylalanine - 210-273%, threonine - 155-203%, valine - 124-162%, leucine - 131-139%, isoleucine - 108-130%. The article presents the results of the analysis of the buckwheat honey samples for the content of heavy metals: cadmium, copper, lead and zinc. In a number of the examined samples taken from the bee gardens located near highways, an increased content of heavy metals, such as cadmium and lead was noted. In the bee gardens located in the buckwheat fields near highways, the content of heavy metals cadmium, copper and zinc in honey is almost 2 times higher, and the content of lead is 6 times higher. The critical concentration of the cadmium and lead content was exceeded. It is proposed to organize a regular monitoring system of the state of the heavy metals content in the samples of honey and soils in bee gardens in the Orel region.