New Method for Ethephon ((2-Chloroethyl)phosphonic Acid) Residue Analysis, and Detection of Residual Levels in the Fruit and Vegetables of Western Japan

Abstract

A new method for the detection and quantification of ethephon residues in fruit and vegetables was developed. The present study indicates that fruit and vegetables require a rapid and simple cleanup step before using gas chromatograph/mass spectrometry. The recovery and precision of the new method were evaluated by spiking the fruit and vegetable samples with 0.01-0.1 microg/g of ethephon. The amount of ethephon residue can be determined with good accuracy (recovery, 78.6-109%; coefficient variation, 2.65-6.41%), and the detection limit, defined as the amount of ethephon equivalent to three standard deviations (SD) of the noise level in observations at the baseline level of the selected ion (m/z 110), was 4 pg. The determination limit, defined as the equivalent to 8 SD of the noise level, was 11 pg. The working range was between 10 and 1000 ng/mL, and the correlation coefficient was 0.999 in the five experiments. Ethephon residues were determined between <2 and 97 ng/g in commercial pineapples from Western Japan.

Determination of plant growth regulators in pears by microwave‐assisted extraction and liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

“…The theory and methodology of orthogonal array experimental design as a statistical method for the optimization of analytical procedures has been described in detail previously [29]. Methanol [18], acetone [30], and acetonitrile [14] are most commonly used reagents for the extraction of auxin from fruits or vegetables. In order to optimize the extraction conditions, the extraction efficiency of three organic solvents was also studied as one of the factors.…”

Multi‐residue determination of plant growth regulators in apples and tomatoes by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

“…Various analytical methods have been reported based on the different structures of the commonly used PGRs. The conventional analytical method for ethephon is headspace gas chromatography (GC) after derivatisation . Solid‐phase extraction (SPE) or liquid‐liquid extraction is widely used for the cleanup of paclobutrazol and uniconazole prior to analysis.…”

“…The conventional analytical method for ethephon is headspace gas chromatography (GC) after derivatisation. [6] Solid-phase extraction (SPE) or liquid-liquid extraction [7] is widely used for the cleanup of paclobutrazol and uniconazole prior to analysis. However, the above-mentioned methods are lengthy procedures that increase the difficulty of residue analysis and residue monitoring.…”

Simultaneous Determination of 19 Plant Growth Regulator Residues in Plant-originated Foods by QuEChERS and Stable Isotope Dilution-Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

“…6 Nonetheless, the determination of such regulators is still highly challenging due to their distinctive distribution and trace concentration in plant-originated foods. Until now, a number of methods have been developed to quantify individual plant growth regulators, including enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), 7,8 gas chromatography (GC), 9,10 liquid chromatography (LC), [11][12][13] gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS), 14,15 liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) 16,17 and capillary electrophoresis (CE). 18 Among these methods, LC-MS has been proven an effective method for plant growth regulator analysis in the last few years.…”