Pyrrolizidine alkaloids and beehive products: A review

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA) are secondary metabolites of plants, which are mostly found in the genus Senecio, Echium, Crotalaria, and Eupatorium. The presence of 1,2-unsaturated PA in foods is a concern to food regulators around the world because these compounds have been associated to acute and chronic toxicity, mainly in the liver. The intake foods with PA/PANO usually occur through accidental ingestion of plants and their derivatives, besides to products of vegetal-animal origin, such as honey. PA/PANO are transferred to honey by their presence in nectar, honeydew, and pollen, which are collected from the flora by bees. In addition to honey, other beekeeping products, such as pollen, royal jelly, propolis, and beeswax, are also vulnerable to PA contamination. In this context, this review provides information about chemical characteristics, regulation, and toxicity, as well as summarizes and critically discusses scientific publications that evaluated PA in honeys, pollens, royal jelly, and propolis.