Improved analysis of propamocarb and cymoxanil for the investigation of residue behavior in two vegetables with different cultivation conditions

Metabolic Study of Cucumber Seeds and Seedlings in the Light of the New, Controversial Trend of Preventive Use of Systemic Fungicides

Cucumber is one of the most commonly produced vegetable crops. The greatest economic losses in the yields of these crops have resulted from fungal infections—powdery mildew and downy mildew. The action of fungicides not only affects the fungi, but can also lead to metabolic disorders in plants. However, some fungicides have been reported to have positive physiological effects. Our research focused on the action of two commercially available fungicides, Scorpion 325 SC and Magnicur Finito 687,5 SC, on plant metabolism. Two approaches were used to check the effect of the fungicides at the early stage of plant development when metabolic changes occur most dynamically: spraying on the leaves of cucumber seedlings and presowing seed treatment. The application of the fungicide formulation as a presowing seed treatment caused perturbations in the phytase activity, leading to disorders in the energetic status of the germinating seeds. In addition, the tested preparations changed the morphology of the germinating seeds, limiting the growth of the stem. Furthermore, the application of the tested fungicides on seedlings also showed a disruption in the energetic status and in the antioxidative system. Therefore, the use of pesticides as agents causes a “green effect” and requires a much deeper understanding of plant metabolism.

Bioaccumulation of organochlorine pesticide residues (OCPs) at different growth stages of pacific white leg shrimp (Penaeus vannamei): First report on ecotoxicological and human health risk assessment

Pesticide residues (PRs) in farmed shrimps are concerning food safety risks. Globally, India is a major exporter of pacific white leg shrimp (P. vannamei). This study was undertaken to analyze PRs in the water, sediments, shrimps, and feed at different growth stages to evaluate the ecotoxicological and human health risks. PRs in the seawater and sediments ranged from not detected (ND) to 0.027 μg/L and 0.006-12.39 μg/kg, and the concentrations were within the maximum residual limits (MRLs) and sediment quality guidelines prescribed by the World Health Organization and Canadian Environment Guidelines, respectively. PRs in shrimps at three growth stages viz. Postlarvae, juvenile, and adults, ranged from ND to 0.522 μg/kg, below the MRLs set by Codex Alimentarius Commission and European Commission. Most of the PRs in water, sediments, and shrimps did not vary significantly (p > 0.05) from days of culture (DOC-01) to DOC-90. The hazard quotient (HQ) and hazard ratio (HR) were found to be < 1, indicating that consumption of shrimps has no noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic risks. PRs in shrimp feed ranged from ND to 0.777 μg/kg and were found to be below the MRLs set by EC, which confirms that the feed fed is safe for aquaculture practices and does not biomagnify in animals. The risk quotient (RQ) and toxic unit (TU) ranged from insignificant level (ISL) to 0.509 and ISL to 0.022, indicating that PRs do not pose acute and chronic ecotoxicity to aquatic organisms. The study suggested no health risk due to PRs in shrimps cultured in India and exported to the USA, China, and Japan. However, regular monitoring of PRs is recommended to maintain a sustainable ecosystem.

Preparing monoclonal antibodies and developing immunochromatographic assay strips for the determination of propamocarb levels

Propamocarb is a carbamate fungicide used to control Phytophthora disease. Frequent and large-scale use of propamocarb means that it poses a potential threat to the health of consumers. Monoclonal antibodies against propamocarb were prepared using a hapten of propamocarb that was generated by introducing a benzene ring and a carboxyl group into the structure of propamocarb. A lateral flow immunoassay strip was developed for the detection of propamocarb in tomato and cucumber samples using the gold nanoparticle-labeled antibody. The immunoassay strip was found to provide a visible limit of detection was 5 ng/g and the cut-off value was 250 ng/g for propamocarb in food samples. For quantitative analysis, the calculated limits of detection (LODs) of the immunoassay strip were 1.43 ng/g and 0.44 ng/g in cucumber and tomato, respectively. Using the immunoassay strip, the average recoveries ranged from 95.5 ± 5.4% to 108.8 ± 6.8%, with CVs of 3.1-6.2% for the cucumber, and the average recoveries were 95.1 ± 6.5%-111.9 ± 4.2%, with CVs ranging from 3.7% to 6.8% for tomato samples. All the results demonstrated that the immunoassay strip was suitable for the detection of propamocarb in fruits and vegetables.

Zero-Background Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Detection of Cymoxanil Based on the Change of the Cyano Group after Ultraviolet Irradiation

A zero-background method based on surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) was developed for the rapid determination of cymoxanil residue in food. Because of the influence of complex matrices, conventional Raman spectroscopy has multiple peaks that overlap with those of target molecules, which makes qualitative and quantitative detection difficult. However, the cyano group (C≡N) of cymoxanil after ultraviolet irradiation has a special characteristic peak in the Raman-silent region (1800-2800 cm^-1), which eliminates the possible background interference. The intensity of the characteristic peak at 2130 cm^-1 exhibited a good linear relationship (R² = 0.9907) with the concentration of cymoxanil in the range of 1.0-50.0 mg/L, whose limit of detection was 0.5 mg/L. The novel method was also applied to the detection of cymoxanil residue in real samples such as cucumber and grape, and the results were in good agreement with those from high-performance liquid chromatography analysis. This revealed that the SERS method has great potential in the detection of cymoxanil in fruits and vegetables. Moreover, ultraperformance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF/MS) was adopted to identify the photoproducts of cymoxanil. The photolysis mechanism was explored by SERS and the UPLC-QTOF/MS technique, which provided basic information on photodegradation of cymoxanil.

Dissipation and residue determination of fluopyram and its metabolites in greenhouse crops

BACKGROUND

Fluopyram is a pesticide widely used in tomato and cucumber crops cultivation to control fungal diseases that develop especially in environments with moderate temperatures and high humidity, such as in a greenhouse. The pathway of fluopyram dissipation has been monitored in cucumber and cherry tomato under greenhouse conditions.

RESULTS

In the greenhouse trials, cherry tomato and cucumber were treated by irrigation water with the commercial product at the manufacturer's recommended dose and double dose. High-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) coupled to ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) has been selected as the technique to obtain the identification of fluopyram and metabolites. The fate of fluopyram in greenhouse tomato and cucumber was investigated over 44 days. The metabolic pathway of fluopyram was: in a first step there was a primary transformation to fluopyram-7-hydroxy and fluopyram-8-hydroxy, isomeric compounds, and in a second phase to fluopyram-benzamide and fluopyram-pyridyl-carboxylic acid. The behavior of fluopyram does not fit any type of kinetic classical model of degradation.

CONCLUSIONS

Greenhouse trials revealed that the fluopyram is a very persistent compound, and their terminal residues do not exceed maximum residue level (MRL) at the end of the study. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.