No abstract

A determinação de agrotóxicos no ar é um tema transversal e para que sejam subsidiadas políticas públicas ambientais e de saúde é necessário o fomento de estudos das áreas técnico-científicas contribuindo para o fortalecimento dos sistemas normativos. Assim, o presente artigo apresenta a determinação de agrotóxicos presentes no material particulado fino atmosférico coletados em área urbana de Ibiporã, norte do Estado do Paraná. Utilizando a cromatografia gasosa e líquida acopladas à espectrometria de massas em série foram confirmadas a presença de permetrina, picoxistrobina, atrazina, azametifós, benfuracarbe, cresoxim-metílico, clomazone, clorantraniliprole, dicrotofós, dimoxistrobina, espinosade D, etiofencarbe, fenamidona e fenpiroximato-(E). As concentrações médias totais dos agrotóxicos somaram 1,1 e 0,7 ng m-3 para setembro e novembro, respectivamente. Os resultados, em conjunto com outros estudos, poderão subsidiar políticas públicas de qualidade do ar englobando os agrotóxicos, objetivando a proteção da saúde ambiental e humana. Palavras-chave: Agrotóxicos; Ar; Políticas públicas; Saúde ambiental; Saúde humana.

Zucchini is one of the most cultivated and consumed vegetables in the world and often requires pesticide treatment. In this context, a simple and straightforward method for determining pesticide residues in zucchini was proposed based on an effective QuEChERS extraction approach followed by dilution of the unclean extract and analysis by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). During the development of the sample preparation step, the cleanup of the extract using dispersive solid-phase extraction with different sorbents was compared with the analysis of unclean extract. Different dilution rates of the raw extract with ultrapure water were evaluated, and a dilution of 5 times presented adequate analysis performance, minimizing the matrix effect. The established method was suitable for 99 pesticides presenting satisfactory results for trueness, with recoveries ranging from 70 to 120% and precision in terms of relative standard deviations (RSD) ≤ 20%. Practical method limit of quantification ranged from 0.005 to 0.010 mg kg− 1 for all compounds. The method was successfully applied to 20 commercial samples of zucchini, and 15 samples showed the presence of 12 different pesticides, especially the insecticide imidacloprid. The method proved to be simple and effective for routine analysis.

A simplex-lattice mixture design with response surface methodology was used to evaluate in vitro synergistic antioxidant activity of red, green, and brown Brazilian propolis extract blends. The in vitro antioxidant capacity of propolis extract blends was measured using the fluorine method of oxygen radical absorption capacity assay (ORAC assay). A synergistic antioxidant interaction was identified between green and brown propolis extracts, and the predictive model accused a binary mixture composed of 59% green and 41% brown propolis extracts with increased antioxidant activity of about 54%. Our findings suggest a possible reduction in the dosages of these natural antioxidants in their various potential applications, including health and food, thereby proving to be a highly promising alternative for the rational use and valorization of propolis.