A Modified QuEChERS Method for Determination of Pyrethroid Residues in Traditional Chinese Medicine Oral Liquids by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography

Abstract

Pyrethroid residues in traditional Chinese medicines have been a serious threat to the health and treatment of patients. However, because of the matrix complexity of traditional Chinese medicine, the detection of pyrethroid residues remains a challenge. Therefore, we developed a QuEChERS method coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography and ultraviolet detection (HPLC-UV) for the determination of pyrethroid pesticides in three kinds of traditional Chinese medicine oral liquid preparations, and we investigated and optimized the extraction conditions. The matrix effect was estimated in the organic solvent and the actual samples by comparing the slopes of calibration curves, and the results showed that the matrix effect is not significant when using the modified QuEChERS method. The pyrethroid pesticides could be completely separated in 30 min. The linear correlation coefficients were more than 0.999, and the recoveries of all the pyrethroid pesticides ranged from 87.2% to 104.8%. The intra-day precisions (n = 5) were 2.44–4.62%, and the inter-day precisions (n = 5) were 1.06–3.02%. Moreover, the limits of detection were in the range of 0.007–0.018 ng mL-1, while the limits of quantitation were in the range of 0.022–0.057 ng mL-1. This simple, low-cost, and highly sensitive analytical method can be a potential tool for the analysis of pyrethroid residues in traditional Chinese medicine oral liquid preparations.

Analytical methods to analyze pesticides and herbicides

“…The recoveries were 73.8%-115%, with RSD < 12.1% at three spiked concentrations. Hou et al (2019) utilized a QuEChERS approach for pyrethroid analysis with HPLC-UV. No significant matrix effect was observed in this method, and the analytes were rapidly separated within 30 min.…”

Rapid classification and identification of chemical constituents in Epimedium koreanum Nakai by UPLC‐Q‐TOF‐MS combined with data post‐processing techniques

“…At present, the identification methods of chemical compositions of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) mainly include thin-layer chromatography (TLC), capillary electrophoresis (CE), highperformance liquid chromatography (HPLC), gas chromatography (GC), ultraviolet (UV) spectrophotometry, etc. [19][20][21][22] However, there are many types of chemical ingredients in TCM and the content of some active ingredients is extremely low. Therefore, it is difficult to make accurate qualitative or quantitative analysis of TCM ingredients using traditional analytical methods.…”

Screening of pesticide residues in Traditional Chinese Medicines using modified QuEChERS sample preparation procedure and LC-MS/MS analysis

“…The main reason why QuEChERS is widely used is that it can achieve rapid and effective extraction. Some researchers have modified the method and made it applicable in some complex matrix like TCM [13][14][15][16]. Due to complex components of TCMs and trace amounts of pesticides in herbs, it is difficult and challenging to detect pesticides in TCMs.…”