Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Evaluation of pesticide residues in vegetables from Mekong, Delta, Vietnam using LC-MS/MS

Ngoc-Van Thi Nguyen¹, Kim-Ngan Huynh Nguyen¹, Tuyet-Ngan Duong¹, Van De Tran¹, Kyeong Ho Kim², Lien To Thi Pham¹

¹College of Pharmacy, Can Tho University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 179 Nguyen Van Cu Street, An Khanh Ward, Ninh Kieu District, Can Tho City, Vietnam; ²College of Pharmacy, Kangwon National University, 1 Gangwondaehak-gil, Hyoja-dong, Chuncheon-si, Gangwon-do, South Korea.

For correspondence:- Lien Pham Email: pttlien@ctump.edu.vn

Accepted: 3 July 2021 Published: 30 July 2021

Citation: Nguyen NT, Huynh Nguyen K, Duong T, Tran VD, Kim KH, Pham LT. Evaluation of pesticide residues in vegetables from Mekong, Delta, Vietnam using LC-MS/MS. Trop J Pharm Res 2021; 20(7):1497-1504 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v20i7.24

© 2021 The authors.
This is an Open Access article that uses a funding model which does not charge readers or their institutions for access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) and the Budapest Open Access Initiative (http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read), which permit unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited..

Abstract

Purpose: To assess the levels of pesticide residues in commonly used vegetables in Vietnam as a reference for future monitoring.

Methods: A total of 180 samples of six different fresh vegetables including watercress, mustard green, choy sum, daikon, okra, and yam were analyzed from Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Ten popular pesticides were evaluated using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) after extraction with a multi-residue method (QuEChERS method).

Results: The results were assessed according to the maximum residue limit (MRL) provided by Codex for each pesticide in each commodity. Pesticide residues above the MRL were detected in 107 samples (59 %) and 63 samples (47 %) contained residues below the MRL. Multiple residues were present in 38.3% of the samples with two to five pesticides, and 0.6 % of samples were contaminated with more than five pesticide residues. Of the pesticides investigated, eight pesticides were detected, of which abamectin, alpha-cypermethrin, acetamiprid, chlorpyrifos- ethyl, chlorantraniliprole, fenobucarb, fipronil, and trichlorfon exceeded their MRLs. Pesticide residues were detected above MRLs in samples of watercress (14 samples), mustard green (24 samples), choy sum (25 samples), daikon (26 samples), and yam (18 samples). Chlorpyrifos-ethyl, and fipronil were detected in most of the vegetable samples (100% and 89.44%, respectively).

Conclusion: The results indicate the occurrence of pesticide residues in commonly consumed vegetables in Vietnam. The need for the regular monitoring of pesticide residues and the sensitization of farmers to better pesticide safety practices, especially the need to adhere to recommended pre-harvest intervals is recommended.

Keywords: Monitoring, Pesticide residues, Vegetables, LC-MS/MS