Pesticide Residues Quantification in Black Pepper Chilli and Chilli Oleoresin by GC MSMS

Abstract

There are very few publications on pesticide residues quantification in spices. Two spices i.e. black pepper, chilli powder and one spice product i.e. chilli oleoresin were chosen for this study with list of representative pesticides. Analysis of agrochemical residues in spices is always considered difficult because of higher matrix interference such as pigments and other non-volatile co-extractives. During the sample preparation, matrix components were co- extracted along with the target compounds leading to frequent source cleaning, changing of liner and column. Efforts were made to improve the chromatographic performance by optimizing sample preparation, choosing matrix-free transitions, dilution technique and guard column introduction. The Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe (QuEChERS) extraction was experimented using different dispersive adsorbents and the purified extract was analyzed by gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) system. Once the instrumental and sample preparation were optimized, method was validated method and established through analysis of market samples. newline