RADIOACTIVE RESIDUE IN HONEY

The aim of the study: to analyze the radioecological status of soils in the Mezen city and the Kamenka village (Mezensky district of the Arkhangelsk region) and to identify low-intensity anomalies in soil 137Cs, 226Ra, 232Th and 40K specific content on the studied territory. Location and time of the study. Field work was carried out in the summer of 2021 on the territory of the Mezen city and Kamenka village and their environs (Mezensky district of the Arkhangelsk region). Methodology. To accomplish the task, the soil from the upper 5 cm layer of Urbikvizems, Culturozems and Replantozems at 68 sites was sampled in the study area. Under laboratory conditions, the samples were air-dried and placed in Marinelli vessels to measure specific activity of isotopes by gamma spectrometry. The registration of gamma radiation from a soil sample, as well as the processing of the spectra, was carried out using the Progress-gamma software and hardware complex FVKM.412131.002-03. The energy calibration of the gamma spectrometer was carried out after each measurement using a combined control source OISN-137-1 in a 1-liter Marinelli vessel. The minimum exposure time for the counting sample was 3600 seconds. Results. The specific activity of 137Cs in the upper 5 cm layer varied from 1,6 to 24,2 Bq/kg in Mezen and from 2,4 to 26,1 Bq/kg in Kamenka, with an average value of 5,88 and 8,27 Bq/kg, respectively; higher specific activities of this radionuclide was observed in the Kamenka soils as compared with the Mezen soils. For 226Ra and 232Th higher activity was also observed in the Kamenka soils. The 40K specific content in the urban soils of the studied area was almost uniform. The specific activity of technogenic 137Cs and natural radionuclides 226Ra, 232Th and 40K in the upper 5 cm of soil layer on pastures and grasslands was comparable to the urban soils in Mezen and Kamenka. In forest soils the 137Cs specific activity was more than three times higher, reaching 65,4 Bq/kg. Analysis of the spatial distribution of the specific activity of technogenic 137Cs and natural radionuclides 40K, 226Ra and 232Th showed that small local anomalies (SLA) of 137Cs (T1/2=30.17 years) were confined to the park zone of the central and southern parts of Mezen, where 4 MLAs were recorded. The natural radionuclides 226Ra (T1/2=1590 years), 232Th (T1/2=1, 41*1010 years) and 40K (T1/2=1.3*109 years) were found mainly in meadow soddy soils on the western outskirts of the city, in areas of one-story buildings (private sector), along banks of the Tova River and also in the airport area. In the rest of the Mezen city, the measured concentrations of the studied radionuclides were minimal. The spatial distribution of the studied radionuclides, revealed in the upper soil layer in the Mezen city, was also typical for Kamenka, where SLA of 137Cs were found in the soils of park areas in the southwestern part of the village without intensive anthropogenic impact. 226Ra and 232Th were characterized by increased concentrations on the outskirts of Kamenka in the north and south. The distribution of 40K is almost uniform throughout the entire study area, including not only the outskirts, but also the central parts of the village. Conclusions. The content of natural and technogenic radionuclides in the urban soils of the Mezen city and Kamenka village do not exceed the maximum allowable concentrations and are typical for urban settlements in the Arkhangelsk region. Higher activity of 137Cs the Kamenka soils as compared with the one in the Mezen soils can be explained by varying degrees of anthropogenic impact on soils in the studied area. SLA of 137Cs in park soils are due to the minimal anthropogenic impact; moreover, the soddy soil layer firmly fixes the atmospheric input by humic acids. SLA of 226Ra and 232Th in the meadow soddy is soils closely associated with the underlying sandy quaternary deposits, concentrating the elements. The SLA of potassium in these areas can be explained by the dense herbaceous vegetation, which easily involves the element in the biological cycle, thus contributing to its accumulation in the upper soil horizon.

There are many studies dealing with the comparison of the quality and biological characteristics of honey of distinct geographical and botanical origins. However, there is scarce literary data on the physico-chemical and biological properties of different types of honey from the same production regions. Honey samples used in this study were from the following botanical origins: forest honey (honeydew), polyfloral honey and monofloral acacia honey. All samples were provided by a local beekeeper from Sumadija district (Central Serbia) and produced during the flowering season in 2018. Spectrophotometric determination of phenolic compounds in honey samples showed that the forest honey contained the highest total phenolics (806.10 mg GAE/kg) and flavonoids (146.27 mg QU/kg) contents, more than ten times higher than acacia honey (68.48 mg GAE/kg and 18.59 mg QU/kg, respectively). Antioxidant activity was determined by DPPH· and ABTS·+ assays. Forest honey showed better antioxidant activity than the other examined honey samples (594.77 mg Trolox/kg for ABTS assay and 260.77 mg Trolox/kg for DPPH assay). The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of honey samples against a panel of eleven bacterial and eight fungal species, along with yeast Candida albicans, showed that forest honey was the most effective in inhibition of their growth. These results suggest that forest honey has the best potential, among studied honey samples, for use in the human diet as food with valuable biological properties.

Spatial distribution of natural and artificial radionuclides at the catchment scale (South Central Pyrenees)

This study summarized the physicochemical analysis of 609 honey samples originating from the Republic of Serbia. Variations among honey samples from different botanical origins, regions of collections, and harvest years were exposed to descriptive statistics and correlation analysis that differentiated honey samples. Furthermore, most of the observed physicochemical parameters (glucose, fructose, sucrose content, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) levels, acidity, and electrical conductivity) varied significantly among different types of honey, years, and regions. At the same time, no noticeable difference was found in diastase activity, moisture content, and insoluble matter. Based on the obtained results, 22 honey samples could be considered adulterated, due to the irregular content of sucrose, 5-HMF, acidity, and diastase activity. In addition, 64 honey samples were suspected to be adulterated. Adulterated and non-compliant samples present a relatively low percentage (14.1%) of the total number of investigated samples. Consequently, a considerable number of honey samples met the required standards for honey quality. Overall, these findings provide insights into compositional and quality differences among various types of honey, aiding in understanding their characteristics and potential applications.

Honey is a complex sweet highly viscous liquid and is composed of various ingredients such as sugar, proteins, minerals, and polyphenolic compounds. Honey is used in traditional medicine systems for centuries because of its ability to inhibit the pathogenesis of various diseases through modulating various biological activities. In this study, antimicrobial potential of different types of honey was tested against selected pathogenic bacterial strains through agar well diffusion method. Four types of honey were used in the present investigation, and the potential antimicrobial activities of these varieties were further compared with that of antibiotics commonly used against targeted microbial strains. Among all of the four tested honey, three types were classified as blossom honey, being Talha (Acacia sp) honey (TH), Zahoor (mixed flower) honey (ZH), and Manuka (Leptospermum based honey) honey (MH). Both gram positive and gram negative bacterial species were used for this investigation. The pathogenic gram-positive bacterial strains included Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213, Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212 and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus (MRSA) ATCC 43300. Three gram negative bacteria like Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Klebsiella pneumonia ATCC 700603, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853 were also used to confirm the antimicrobial activities. As reflected from our study, we found that three varieties of honey including TH, ZH, and MH (with different UMF +20, +16, +5) displayed a broad spectrum antibacterial activity against all tested microbial strains. However, all strains showed a high frequency of resistance to BF honey. Gram-positive (G+) bacteria were found to be more sensitive to all tested honey types except (BF) as indicated by significantly higher zone of inhibition (ZOI) values than those of gram-negative (G-) bacteria. As a conclusion, this study suggests that antimicrobial potential of honey types might be helpful in order to treat the pathogenic microorganisms threatening the public health and changing antibiotics into last-resort drugs.

ABSTRACTThis study aimed to evaluate the impact of different types of honey on the physicochemical properties and sensory profile of meads, using the Check‐all‐that‐apply (CATA) method. Four meads were produced: WM—wildflower honey mead (multifloral), SM—stingless bee honey mead (Jataí—Tetragonisca angustula), OM—orange blossom mead (monofloral) and HM—honeydew mead (non‐floral). The physicochemical analyses indicated significant differences (p < 0.05) between the formulations, with alcohol content ranging from 11.20% to 12.20% and diverse and complex organic acid profiles. The color of the meads varied, with HM standing out for its lower luminosity. All meads showed good acceptability (≥ 70%) and distinct sensory profiles, according to CATA. The study demonstrates the influence of different types of honey on the composition and sensory characteristics of mead, pioneering the application of the CATA method to describe the beverage.

One hundred and twenty healthy female Sprague-Dawley rats weighing between 300 to 350g were used in this study over a 20-day period. They were allocated randomly into 4 groups of 30 animals each. After the creation of 2cm x 2cm open wound, Group I was control treated with Gentamycin ointment. Groups II, III and IV were treated with Different Types of Honey. On application, the honey was well accepted by the animals without any adverse reaction. On clinical examination, Groups II, III and IV showed bright beefy red color granulation tissue with angiogenesis when compared to Groups I. On bacteriological examination, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas, Escherichia coli, Proteus and Klebsiella species were isolated from all the groups. Mean percentage of epithelialistion, wound contraction and total healing were significantly better in Group IV (P<0.05).
 Honey can be a better wound healing biomaterial in rats. It can be used as a less expensive skin substitute in order to stimulate and promote wound healing in animals.

Herpes simplex virus ( HSV) is a common cause of oral and genital lesions and remains latent in nerve ganglia. Current antiviral treatments often use antiviral drugs like acyclovir, valacyclovir, and famciclovir. However, these drugs have side effects and drug-resistant strains may emerge. Thus, natural products such as honey are being explored as an alternative agent for viral inhibition. This study aimed to investigate the antioxidant activity of longan, lychee, and polyfloral honey, and evaluate efficacy of honey against HSV-1 infection via plaque reduction assays. The HSV-1 was treated with three different types of honey before, during, and after viral attachment to human epidermal keratinocyte ( HaCaT) cells. Longan honey exhibited the highest total phenolic content of 1.375 ± 0.02 mg GAE/g and antioxidant activity of 0.850 ± 0.06 mg GAE/g. All three different types of honey exhibited less than 50% inhibition when treated before and after viral attachment. However, during viral attachment, all types of honey inhibited HSV- 1 infection by more than 50% at a concentration of 3.125% W/ V and polyfloral honey showed the strongest inhibitory effect by 70.87 ± 3.72%. These results suggest that the antiviral mechanism of honey may involve disrupting the viral particles or interfere during attachment of the virus to the cell. Therefore, the finding supports the potential anti-HSV activity of Thai longan, lychee, and polyfloral honey.

The northern coastal of Rio Grande do Sul is filled with rare ecosystems and a biodiversity with a high environmental vulnerability, resulted especially by the urban development in this region. Nevertheless, there is still good part of the population in this region that keeps small farms, which have an intense apicultural activity, making this part of the state an important producer and exporter of honey. Honey is the final result of the flower's nectar transformation and dehydration process performed by the honeybees, and its characteristics depend mainly by the local existing vegetation. The objective of this work is to determine the floral origin of the different types of honey produced in the northern coastal plain of Rio Grande do Sul, identifying different types of pollen and plant species used by Apis mellifera for the honey production. In qualitative analyzes, the most frequent taxas were found in: Eucalyptus sp., Mimosa sp., Ilex sp., Hovenia dulcis Thunb. and Sebastiana brasiliensis Spreng.. The different types of honey were defined as poliflorals. The botanical families Myrtaceae, Fabaceae and Asteraceae were present in all samples, but at different quantitative standards.

This study aims to investigate the effect of the ratio of oil palm leaves to pandan leaves and the addition of different types of honey on the chemical and organoleptic characteristics of the resulting herbal drink, as well as to determine the best herbal drink formula. A Completely Randomized Block Design (CRBD) with two factors was used in this study. The first factor was the ratio of oil palm leaves to pandan leaves, consisting of three levels: (A1 = 70:30 w/w; A2 = 50:50 w/w; A3 = 30:70 w/w). The second factor was the addition of honey, with three types: (B1 = kapok honey; B2 = longan honey; B3 = forest honey). The results showed that the ratio of oil palm leaves to pandan leaves affected antioxidant activity, total phenolic content, total sugar content, and pH, but had no effect on color closeness based on chromameter tests, or the preference for color, taste, aroma, and appearance of the herbal drink. The addition of different types of honey affected antioxidant activity, total sugar content, and aroma preference, but had no effect on total phenolic content, pH, color closeness based on chromameter tests, or the preference for color, taste, and appearance of the herbal drink. The herbal drink with the highest antioxidant activity was produced at A1 (oil palm leaves to pandan leaves ratio = 70:30) and B3 (addition of forest honey), reaching 89.30%, with an average preference score of 4.78 (somewhat liked)

Background: At nuclear facilities and decommissioning sites, monitoring radioactivity concentrations in airborne particulates is crucial to prevent worker exposure. To avoid internal exposure, alpha-decay radionuclides must be detected. When monitoring alpha-decay radionuclides in airborne dust, we want to measure the concentration of only artificial radionuclides (e.g. , 238Pu, 239Pu, 240Pu, 235U, 238U, 241Am, and 244Cm). The radioactivity concentration must be measured separately for artificial (4.3–5.8 MeV) and natural radionuclides (212Bi, 214Po, and 212Po at 6.0, 7.7, and 8.8 MeV, respectively).Materials and Methods: We created response functions for various alpha-ray energies using a radiation simulation toolkit. Utilizing these response functions, we deconvolved the alpha-ray energy spectra measured while collecting dust on filter paper. To ensure the precision of the response function, we prepared a model including the distance between the filter and the detector and the structure of the light shield in detail.Results and Discussion: The deconvolved spectra had three clear peaks at 6.0, 7.7, and 8.8 MeV. These energies were consistent with those of 212Bi, 214Po, and 212Po. The deconvolved energy spectra showed that only a few measurements (4.0–5.8 MeV) were included in the energy range due to artificial radionuclides. From these measurements, the decision threshold for artificial radionuclides was determined to be about 1.5×10−7 Bq/cm3.Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated that we could measure artificial and natural radionuclides separately with the deconvolved alpha-ray energy spectra. Specifically, we were able to monitor artificial radionuclides down to low radioactivity concentrations in 10-minute measurements.

In this contribution, the distribution of naturally occurring radionuclides in the area around Main Karakoram Thrust (MKT) in Karakoram Range, North Pakistan is documented. Three natural radionuclides (226Ra, 232Th, and 40K) and one anthropogenic radionuclide (137Cs) were studied for their specific activities in 30 samples. The measurements were made by high resolution gamma-ray spectrometry. The sampling area is located in Gilgit Baltistan province of Pakistan at an altitude of 1838 m/6030 ft above sea level. MKT separates the Karakoram plate from the Kohistan-Ladakh Terranes and Indian Plate to the south. The specific activity varied as 4.5–56.5 Bq kg−1, 18.2–61.4 Bq kg−1, 1.4–19.6 Bq kg−1 and 51–1640 Bq kg−1 for 226Ra, 232Th, 137Cs and 40K, respectively. The average radium equivalent activity was 127.8 ± 45.9 Bq kg−1. The external hazard index was <1 for all samples and representative level index was <1 for majority of the samples. The average air absorbed dose rate was 60.9 ± 23.2 nGy h−1 corresponding to the outdoor effective dose rate of 73.7 ± 28.0 μSv y−1. These values were slightly higher than the world average values for air absorbed dose rate (51 nGy h−1) and outdoor annual effective dose rate (70 μSv y−1). The data revealed significant positive correlation between 226Ra and 40K. Principal component analysis revealed distribution patterns within the samples and identified three distinct groups. Data was also evaluated for the concentrations of uranium, thorium and potassium and their ratios.

Bioactive components, antioxidant and DNA damage inhibitory activities of honeys from arid regions

The safety of fermented sausage products is due to the elimination of a number of risks of biological origin, mainly of a microbiological nature. One of the most promising directions for the development of barrier technologies is the use of starter cultures and the biologically active substances produced by them in the production of fermented meat products. The research aims to study the influence of starter cultures and honey on a complex of physico-chemical, structuralmechanical, organoleptic indicators and nutritional value of raw smoked sausages. The article presents changes in the physical and chemical parameters of raw smoked sausages when using starter cultures in combination with different types of honey. When performing the work, 4 types of honey were used: from sunflower, phacelia, honeydew honey and from medicinal herbs. At the first stage of research, the proportion of honey application and the type of starter crops were selected. The next stage of the study was to determine the impact of the starter cultures included in the product BIOSTART PLUS 50 (lactic acid bacteria Lactobacillus Sake and yeasts Debaryomyces Hansenii) and honey on moisture loss during fermentation of raw smoked sausages, physicochemical parameters of finished products. Determination of moisture content in samples was carried out by drying in a drying cabinet at a temperature of 103±2°C. Conducted studies prove that the use of the product BIOSTART PLUS 50 (lactic acid bacteria Lactobacillus Sakei and yeasts Debaryomyces Hansenii) and honey allows shortening the ripening and drying technological process. A comparative analysis of manufactured raw-smoked sausages in terms of nutritional value makes it possible to state that manufactured raw-smoked sausages with the addition of honey meet the requirements of the standard. The results of the set of studies carried out in this work showed that the use of a composition of lactic acid bacteria and yeast with the use of honey as a source of carbohydrates will allow intensifying the technological process and improve the quality of finished products

Honey authenticity refer to honey types is of great importance issue and interest in agriculture. In current research, several documents of specific types of honey have their own usage in medical field. However, it is quite challenging task to classify different types of honey by simply using our naked eye. This work demostrated a successful an electronic nose (E-nose) application as an instrument for identifying odor profile pattern of three common honey in Malaysia (Gelam, Acacia and Tualang honey). The applied E-nose has produced signal for odor measurement in form of numeric resistance (Ω). The data reading have been pre-processed using normalization technique for standardized scale of unique features. Mean features is extracted and boxplot used as the statistical tool to present the data pattern according to three types of honey. Mean features that have been extracted were employed into K-Nearest Neighbors classifier as an input features and evaluated using several splitting ratio. Excellent results were obtained by showing 100% rate of accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of classification from KNN using weigh (k=1), ratio 90:10 and Euclidean distance. The findings confirmed the ability of KNN classifier as intelligent classification to classify different honey types from E-nose calibration. Outperform of other classifier, KNN required less parameter optimization and achieved promising result.