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

Abstract

A robust and high-throughput method was developed for the determination of 108 pesticide residues in Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCMs) simultaneously using a combination of UHPLC-MS/MS analysis and the modified QuEChERS method. Extraction was carried out in acetonitrile containing 0.75% (v/v) acetic acid with ultrasonication for 15 min; MgSO 4 and C18 were used as the dispersive-solid phase extraction sorbents. The method exhibited good linearity (r 2 > 0.9901), in addition to good selectivity, precision and repeatability. More than 92% of pesticides exhibited high rates or recovery in the 70-120% range. This method showed high sensitivity, with Limits of Quantitation in the 0.01-20 ng/mL range in Cortex Moutan, and 0.01-50 ng/mL in the other TCMs. The method was employed for the analysis of 39 real samples from different habitats, and pesticides were detected in 92.3% of the samples, with 26 pesticides being detected in these three TCMs. More than four pesticides were detected in a third of the samples. Among them, tebuconazole was detected in all the three TCMs with 0.22-22.02 μg/kg concentration, which was lower than the provisions in GB 2763-2019 (50 μg/kg). In addition, the paclobutrazol detection rate in Ophiopogon japonicus was 100%, and the detected concentrations of 9 samples exceeded the Maximum Residue Levels defined for vegetables (50 μg/kg). Considering there are no regulations that govern the limits of pesticide residues in the three TCMs in China, we recommend the acceleration of efforts to introduce appropriate regulations.

Novel Dual-Color Immunochromatographic Assay Based on Chrysanthemum-like Au@polydopamine and Colloidal Gold for Simultaneous Sensitive Detection of Paclobutrazol and Carbofuran in Fruits and Vegetables

“…The concentrated solution was blow-dried with nitrogen, and 1 mL of acetonitrile and water were added quickly. After mixing, the solution was filtered using a 0.2 um filter membrane and then detected using LC–MS/MS [ 9 ]. A chromatographic column (3 μm, 150 mm × 2.1 mm) and a guard column (10 mm × 2.1 mm) were used for HPLC separation at 40 °C with a sample injection volume of 20 μL.…”

“…Currently, the common detection methods of pesticide residues mainly include liquid chromatography [ 7 ], gas chromatography [ 8 , 9 ], liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry [ 10 , 11 ], and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry [ 12 ]. However, these techniques require expensive laboratory instruments, trained operators, and specific laboratory environments.…”

Allergenic components, biocides, and analysis techniques of some essential oils used in food products

“…There are many studies which were made with MS method followed by GC analysis (Bilia et al, 2002;Nitta et al, 2006;Paraschos et al, 2016;Zribia et al, 2019) and some studies which were combined with other methods (Heravi et al, 2015;Madhumita et al, 2019;Zoubiri & Baaliouamer, 2012). Bio pesticide analysis studies are mostly made with GC or LC methods which are carried out by MS after them (Di Bella et al, 2004;Fillatre et al, 2016;Hakme et al, 2018;Rui-Xing et al, 2020). Taking the median of 0.4 mg/kg, the rat NOAEL could be estimated at ten times less, 0.04 mg/kg.…”

The pesticide residue analysis in commodities with high content of chlorophyll based on the quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe method: A review

“…Sorbent GCB is primarily used for effective removal of coextracted pigments such as carotenoids and chlorophyll [5]. The main disadvantage of this sorbent is a possibility of removal of pesticides with planar structures [29,38,54,64], therefore, other sorbents are proposed to improve recovery of a wide range of pesticides. An example of novel sorbent suggested as an alternative for commodities with high amount of chlorophyll is Chlo-roFiltr.…”