Quantification of Pesticide Residues in Fresh Vegetables Available in Local Markets for Human Consumption and the Associated Health Risks

Abstract

Human health risks as a result of consuming pesticide residues in fresh vegetables have drawn serious attention to the scientific community, particularly in developing countries. This study analyzed country bean (Lablab purpureus L.) and eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) for widely used neonicotinoid, synthetic pyrethroid, and dithiocarbamate pesticide residues in order to ensure food safety. The analyzed vegetables contained residues of acetamiprid and cypermethrin in 17% of bean and 13% of eggplant samples, respectively; among them, 3% of bean and 1% of eggplant samples had residues of acetamiprid that were above the maximum residue limits set by the European Union (EU-MRLs). None of the samples for either of the analyzed vegetables contained the residue of thiram and lambda-cyhalothrin. In contrast, 83% of bean and 87% of eggplant samples had no detectable pesticides. Thus, the findings were surprising considering the repeated and overuse of pesticides in vegetables in the investigated areas. However, this outcome supports the general claim of pesticide adulteration in terms of the active ingredients, which is another drawback to ensuring food safety. The non-cancer health risk assessment based on the acute health risk to consumer (aHI) and chronic hazard quotient (HQ) indicates that contaminated vegetables might pose a potential threat to children's health and alarming for adults. This study reflects the overall scenario of pesticide residues in marketed vegetables of Barishal district of Bangladesh, which could help the consumers to bring awareness, and to take necessary actions by the pesticide suppliers and policymakers.

High-intensity ultrasonication impact on the chlorothalonil fungicide and its reduction pathway in spinach juice

“…Fresh agricultural products such as spinach ( Spinacia oleracea ) are essential to the human diet because they provide us with vitamins, minerals, glucosinolates, carotenoids, and bioactive compounds [6] . Studies reported that fresh agricultural products transported into the market were detected with high MRL of pesticides [7] . Among the pesticides, chlorothalonil is one of the most commonly used fungicides for spinach [8] .…”

Analysis of qualitative and quantitative morphological traits related to yield in country bean (Lablab purpureus L. sweet) genotypes

“…This crop is grown in all 64 districts and almost every village in the homestead garden in Bangladesh. Although beans are cultivated in the winter, they become a year-round crop as photo-insensitive, and summer varieties become available ( Nisha et al., 2021 ; Ahmed et el ., 2004 ; Biswas 2015 ). In Bangladesh, growers produced about 1,69,735 metric tons of country beans from 61,628 acres ( BBS, 2020 ).…”

Detection and quantification of pesticide residues in tomatoes sold in urban markets of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

“…Without the use of pesticides, there would be a 78% loss of fruit production, a 54% loss of vegetable production, and a 32% loss of cereal production (Tudi et al, 2021). However, the inappropriate use of pesticides in agriculture may result in many health problems for producers and consumers who are exposed through their handling practices (Nisha et al, 2021;Parven et al, 2021). The overall rate of pesticide contamination for tomatoes in our study (62.2%) is very high.…”