In the literature there are studies that provide information related to lead contamination of propolis [6,8]. However, there are fewresearches about lead determination as contaminant in this sample. Sales et al. [6] carried out three propolis harvestmethod, in order to demonstrate that the lead content in propolis depends on the procedure performed. The authors employed electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry and UV–vis spectrophotometry methods to evaluate the lead level. Cantarelli et al. performed chemical characterization of Argentina propolis from mineral contents by Neutron Activation Analysis. However, the authors did not report information about the lead concentration [11]. In the AOAC method to determine lead in food, ammoniumcitrate solution is added to the sample in a first step. Then, the lead is extracted
with dithizone in chloroform forming a lead–dithizone complex that
absorbs at 510 nm [12]. This method uses a liquid–liquid extraction
and large amounts of hazardous organic solvents. Moreover, it has the
disadvantage of being laborious, time consuming procedure and numerous
mistakes can occur during this stage.