The content of antibiotics in honey on condition of their use in the treatment of bee colonies

Abstract

Goal. To determine in honey the content of chloramphenicol, nitrofuran (AOZ), neomycin and florfenicol on the 120th day of storage on condition of their one-time use in the treatment of bee colonies by spraying and feeding with sugar syrup in 0.1% concentration. Methods. The content of metabolites of these antibiotics was determined on immunoassay analyzer «Tecan Sunrise» with the following test-systems RIDASCREEN® (r­Biopharm, Germany), EuroProxima Neomycin ELISA (Cat. No. 5111NEO) and Kwinbon Biotech Florfenicol and Thiamphenicol (Cat. No. KA12901H) (China). Results. The content in the honey of these 3 examined antibiotics (chloramphenicol, nitrofuran, neomycin) with storage time is not reduced, as would be expected, and as evidenced by the data of treating bees with tetracycline. This regularity is maintained both for the aerosol processing and feeding with sugar syrup. Discovered regularity is traced from the 10th to the 120th day of the storage of honey (the period from the selection from frames with honey). The content of antibiotics in honey is significantly larger at feeding with antibiotics than at aerosol spraying the frames with bees. In contrast to these 3 antibiotics, the content of florfenicol in honey on the 120th day was significantly decreased at feeding the drug as compared to aerosol spraying, although it remains at a high enough level. Conclusions. The obtained results indicate the necessity of applying alternative methods of healing bees at putrefactive diseases of bacterial nature, namely, the use of herbal medicine with bactericidal and bacteriostatic effects and the creation of infertility period for the term of birth of a new queen bee.