Determination of the acetamiprid residues in selected vegetables and fruit

Abstract

Increased use of pesticides has resulted in contamination of the environment causing also many associated long-term effects on human health. Therefore, validated analytical methods that produce reliable results for the assessment of pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables are highly needed. The main objective of this study was validation of the method for the analysis of acetamiprid in tomato and determination of its residues after the application at recommended rates under controlled conditions. Obtained results of acetamiprid half-life in tomato are compared with DTso in sweet cherry. For sample pre-treatment QUEChERS procedure was used. Insecticide determination and quantification were performed by HPLC with diode-array detection (Agilent 1100 Series) and Zorbax Eclipse C18 column (50 mm x 4.6 mm internal diameter, 1.8 pm particle size) This method fulfilled validation criteria described in the European Union guidelines (SANCO 12571/2013), by evaluating the accuracy, precision, linearity, limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ), as well as matrix-effect (ME), The accuracy and precision were satisfactory, showing mean recovery values higher than 80% and precision below 20%, in all cases. The validated method was applied for the analysis of acetamiprid residues in real samples. Half-life of acetamiprid in tomato was 4.33 day and it is quite similar to DT, obtained in the experiment with sweet cherries. On the sixth day after the acetamiprid application residues in tornato were at MRL level, as well as in sweet cherries (according to Serbian MRL, 2010), while the PHI was 14 days