Ginseng is a perennial herb with a long growth cycle and is known to easily accumulate pesticides during its growth process, seriously threatening people's health. Therefore, to ensure safe consumption, it is necessary to detect and monitor pesticide residues in ginseng. In this study, a novel analysis method was established for simultaneous determination of 31 pesticides in ginseng by high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Ginseng samples were extracted using acetonitrile, cleaned up by primary secondary amine (PSA) solid-phase extraction column eluted with acetonitrile-toluene, and then detected in multiple reaction mode (MRM). The calibration curves of target compounds were linear in the range of 0.005–1.0 mg/L, with correlation coefficients greater than 0.9921. The limits of detection of all the pesticides in ginseng were between 4.4×10−5 and 1.6 × 10−2 mg/kg. For fresh ginseng, the average recoveries ranged from 72.1 to 111.6%, and the relative standard deviations were 1.3–12.2%. For dry ginseng, the average recoveries were 74.3–108.3%, and the relative standard deviations were 0.9–14.9%. The residual concentrations of some pesticides in real samples were greater than the maximum residue limit (MRL) for European Union (EU). The method established here is rapid and simple with high sensitivity and good reproducibility, which is sensitive in the residue analysis of many pesticides in ginseng.

Mandipropamid, a new fungicide for oomycete disease, has a strong effect on the blight of many crops and has been registered for the treatment of ginseng blight in China. However, no maximum residue limit (MRL) of mandipropamid has been identified for ginseng, and there have been few related studies. We established and verified the analysis method of mandipropamid in ginseng using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The method has good linearity and accuracy in the range of 0.002–0.5 mg/kg. The average recovery of mandipropamid was 87.4–101.6%, and the standard deviation was 1.1–10.1. Mandipropamid in ginseng plants and soil rapidly degraded following first-order kinetics models. The degradation dynamics showed that the half-life of mandipropamid in ginseng plant and soil was 13.8–28.0 and 9.8–27.4 d, respectively. After the recommended dose of mandipropamid was applied once, the residual content of mandipropamid in fresh ginseng, dried ginseng, red ginseng, ginseng plant, and ginseng soil was <0.01–0.185, <0.01–0.265, 0.085–1.544, 0.075–4.800, and <0.01–0.014 mg/kg, respectively. The dietary risk assessment of mandipropamid on ginseng showed that the risk quotient value was far less than 100%, indicating that the recommended dose of mandipropamid does not cause unacceptable risks to humans. After the recommended dose of mandipropamid was applied once, it did not cause unacceptable risks to humans. This study not only provides a reasonable spray dosage of mandipropamid to ginseng, but also offers a reference for the establishment of MRLs in China.

Mandipropamid, a new fungicide for oomycete disease, has a strong effect on the blight of many crops and has been registered for the treatment of ginseng blight in China. However, no maximum residue limit (MRL) of mandipropamid has been identified for ginseng, and there have been few related studies. We established and verified the analysis method of mandipropamid in ginseng using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The method has good linearity and accuracy in the range of 0.002–0.5 mg/kg. The average recovery of mandipropamid was 87.4–101.6%, and the standard deviation was 1.1–10.1. The degradation dynamics showed that the half-life of mandipropamid in ginseng plant and soil was 13.8–28.0 and 9.8–27.4 d, respectively. After the recommended dose of mandipropamid was applied once, the residual content of mandipropamid in fresh ginseng, dried ginseng, red ginseng, ginseng plant, and ginseng soil was <0.01–0.185, <0.01–0.265, 0.085–1.544, 0.075–4.800, and <0.01–0.014 mg/kg, respectively. The dietary risk assessment of mandipropamid on ginseng showed that the risk quotient value was far less than 100%, indicating that the recommended dose of mandipropamid does not cause unacceptable risks to humans. Mandipropamid in ginseng plants and soil rapidly degraded following first-order kinetics models. After the recommended dose of mandipropamid was applied once, it did not cause unacceptable risks to humans. This study not only provides a reasonable spray dosage of mandipropamid to ginseng, but also offers a reference for the establishment of MRLs in China.