Propolis as a bioindicator of elemental contamination

Jelena Ćirić; Tatjana Baltić; Tamara Gerić; Saša Živković; Biljana Pećanac; Sara Simunović; Boris Mrdović

doi:10.18485/meattech.2025.66.3.64

Jelena Ćirić Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8118-7676
Tatjana Baltić Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0496-3133
Tamara Gerić https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9303-5231
Saša Živković Veterinary Specialized Institute Kraljevo, Kraljevo, Serbia https://orcid.org/0009-0002-7740-1163
Biljana Pećanac Veterinary Institute of the Republic of Srpska, Dr Vaso Butozan, Banja Luka, Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Sara Simunović Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8280-5149
Boris Mrdović Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Belgrade, Serbia https://orcid.org/0009-0006-9964-4317

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18485/meattech.2025.66.3.64

Keywords: honeybee products, propolis, food safety, soil, heavy metals

Abstract

Bioindicators are organisms used to predict the level of environmental pollution in a selected geographical area. Some of these live organisms and their products are very sensitive to surrounding changes in the concentrations of heavy metals, whether due to geographical or anthropogenic origins. High agricultural and industrial activity can be sources of chemical and other contaminants. Honeybee products are natural mixtures produced by a honey bee. The honeybee products are rich with biologically active compounds, such as carbohydrates, proteins, amino acids, lipids, vitamins, phenolics, minerals and enzymes. The most popular bee products are honey (unifloral and multifloral), bee venom, propolis, bee pollen, bee bread and royal jelly. Propolis is a honeybee product produced by honeybees using plant resins (more than 50%), beeswax, essential oils, pollen and other organic substances (alcohols, acids and their esters, benzofurans, benzopyrenes, chalcones, flavonoids and their esters, glycerol and its esters, lignans, phenylpropanoids, steroids, terpenes and terpenoids). Propolis is a very popular honeybee products with high biological activities, such as anti-oxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory and anticancer activities. Some studies shown in vitro antibacterial activity of propolis against different types of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and data of synergism exhibited among the various propolis compounds. The chemical composition of propolis is complex, and depends with geographical area and season. The chemical variability presents several challenges to its standardization and quality control. The present review is aimed at highlighting the presence of heavy metals in propolis, produced by the species Apis mellifera, from different geographical areas.