Bee pollen, known as a natural super-food with valuable nutritional ingredients, is regarded as a good indicator of ecotoxic substances, such as potentially toxic elements (PTEs). Therefore, this study aims to examine the concentrations of selected PTEs (Al, As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Se, Sn, Sr, V, Zn) in bee pollen purchased from online markets in Turkey and perform a health risk assessment to identify the potential risk to consumers. The quantitative analyses were conducted by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The mean values of essential PTEs in decreasing content order were Mg > Fe > Zn > Mn > Cu > Ni > Se > Cr > Mo >Co = V. Regarding the results of the study, daily consumption (40 g for adult or 20 g for children) of commercial bee pollen can recompense 20-35 % of daily Cu, Mn, Se requirements for children, adults, pregnant, and breastfeeding women. The decreasing content order of non-essential elements was Al > Sn > Sr > Ba > Pb > As. Cadmium and Hg concentrations were below the detection limits in all the samples. In terms of food and public health; detection of the PTEs concentrations is necessary to assess the quality and safety of bee pollen before consumption. According to the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risk assessments; commercial pollen consumption does not pose a health risk to either children or adults for the PTEs monitored in this study. We conclude that bee pollen is an ideal indicator for the monitoring of environmental pollution of PTEs and also a valuable source of essential elements. This study highlights the need to develop standards that regulate acceptable concentrations of PTEs.

Delice salt is a natural spring salt obtained from the evaporation of spring water from the Central Anatolia region of Turkey and is a food grade salt with a geographical indication certificate. The aim of this study was to evaluate the compliance of Delice natural spring salt (Delice NSS), a commercial product, with food grade criteria by physicochemical characterizations and to investigate whether it contains microplastics. The NaCl%, moisture suspended solids and acid insoluble matter contents of Delice NSS were analyzed and determined as 98.79% (w/w), 0.301% (w/w), 0.16% (w/w) and 0.01% (w/w), respectively. Sodium, other minerals, and heavy metals were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission (ICP-OES) spectrometry. In addition, fluoride, nitrate, and sulphate ions were analyzed by ion chromatography (IC). The chemical and thermal properties of Delice NSS were characterized by FTIR, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). Moreover, Delice NSS was investigated whether it contains microplastics and some particles were detected under fluorescence microscopy. However, it was concluded that particles were not microplastics after TGA and FTIR analyses. The results revealed that Delice NSS does not carry a risk in terms of physicochemical properties as a foodstuff.

This study was conducted to investigate heavy metal concentrations and oxidative status of plasma and erythrocytes in Angora cats at different age and gender. Sixteen young (less than 1 year old) and 14 adult (1-6 years old) cats were also grouped according to gender as male (n=17) and female (n=13). The separated plasma samples from cat’s blood were analyzed for selected heavy metals and total oxidant and antioxidant capacities (TOC and TAC) and calculated for oxidative stress index (OSI). The erythrocyte hemolysates were also evaluated for malondialdehyde (MDA), and super oxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX). Results of the study showed that most of measured metals were not varied statistically according to age or gender. However, adult cats had significantly (P<0.01) higher Cu and lower Fe levels compare to young cats. Plasma levels of TOC, TAC and OSI, and erythrocyte MDA concentrations in young cats were significantly (P<0.05) higher than that of adults. While the SOD activity was decreased by the age, GPX activity was increased (P<0.05). However, the activity of CAT was changed by only gender which was higher in males (P<0.01). In conclusion, it is well known that metals especially trace elements, are required for many kinds of physiological process and the synthesis of antioxidant enzymes. Therefore, it can be suggested the periodic measurement of metals and the addition of common antioxidant supplements to diet of adult Angora cats will support weakening antioxidant mechanisms by the age. Bu çalışma, farklı yaş ve cinsiyetteki Ankara kedilerinde ağır meta konsantrasyonlarını ile plazma ve eritrositlerin oksidatif stres durumunu araştırmak için yapıldı. On altı yavru (1 yaşından küçük) ve 14 yetişkin (1-6 yaş) kedi aynı zamanda cinsiyete göre erkek (n=17) ve dişi (n=13) olarak gruplandırıldı. Kedilerin kanından ayrıştırılan plazma örnekleri seçilen ağır metaller ve toplam oksidan ve antioksidan kapasiteler (TOC ve TAC) için analiz edildi ve oksidatif stres endeksi (OSI) için hesaplandı. Eritrosit hemolizatlarından ise, malondialdehit (MDA), süper oksit dismutaz (SOD), katalaz (CAT) ve glutatyon peroksidaz (GPX) açısından değerlendirildi. Çalışmanın sonuçları, ölçülen metallerin çoğunun yaş veya cinsiyete göre istatistiksel olarak değişmediğini gösterdi. Bununla birlikte, yetişkin kedilerde yavrulara göre Cu’nın önemli derecede (P<0.01) yüksek, Fe’nin ise daha düşük olduğu belirlendi. Gençlerdeki plazma TOC, TAC ve OSI seviyeleri ile MDA konsantrasyonları yetişkinlere göre anlamlı derecede yüksekti (P<0.05). SOD aktivitesi yaşla birlikte azalırken, GPX aktivitesi arttı (P<0.05). Ancak, erkeklerde daha yüksek olan CAT aktivitesi sadece cinsiyete göre değişti (P<0.01). Sonuç olarak, metallerin özellikle iz elementlerinin birçok fizyolojik süreç için ve antioksidan enzimlerinin sentezi için gerekli olduğu iyi bilinmektedir. Bu nedenle, metallerin periyodik ölçümünün ve yetişkin Ankara kedilerinin diyetine yaygın antioksidan takviyelerinin eklenmesi yaşla birlikte zayıflayan antioksidan mekanizmaların desteklenmesi açısından önerilebilir.