Distribution of pesticides in different commonly used vegetables from Hyderabad, India Sukesh Narayan Sinha a, ⁎, M. Vishnu Vardhana Rao b , K. Vasudev a a Food and Drug Toxicology, National Institute of Nutrition Hyderabad (Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi, India), Jamai-Osmania PO, Hyderabad 500 007, AP, India b Bio-statistic Department, National Institute Nutrition, Hyderabad, India abstract article info Article history: Received 14 June 2011 Accepted 22 September 2011 Keywords: Pesticides Liquid chromatography mass spectrometry Vegetables Organophosphate Herbicide In this study, we assessed the exposure of urban populations to different classes of organophosphate pesticides due to the consumption of different types of vegetables. Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry was used for quantification, while the quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe extraction method was used to isolate eighteen organophosphate pesticides found in vegetable samples (eggplant, ladyfinger, cauliflower, cabbage, tomato and chili) at concentration of μg/kg. This method was accurate (≥99.5%) and possessed a limit of detection and quantification in the range of 0.002–0.099 and 0.009–0.337 μg/kg respectively. The coefficients of variation (≥0.9999) were less than 2% at the low end of the linear range of the method. The mean recovery ranged between 94 and 103%, and the % relative standard deviation (RSD) was generally below 10%. These results demonstrate that the methodology is both highly efficient and robust. The proposed method was successfully applied to the analysis of vegetable samples collected from different government farmer markets and street shops in urban areas. The mean concentration of chlorpyrifos in eggplant (24.02 μg/kg), cabbage (10.55 μg/kg), cauliflower (2.85 μg/kg), tomato (178.87 μg/kg) and ladyfinger (2.49 μg/kg) differed significantly (p b 0.002). Similarly, the mean concentration of triazophos in eggplant (0.863 μg/kg), cabbage (2.21 μg/kg), cauliflower (0.491 μg/kg), tomato (3.01 μg/kg) and ladyfinger (2.49 μg/kg) differed significantly (p b 0.007). A similar trend was observed for acephate, fenitrothion and phosalone. This study may be helpful in developing a regional exposure database and in facilitating assessment of health risks from pesticide exposure in our day-to-day lives. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction India is an agrarian country, and the majority of Indians are vege- tarians. Their average diet consists of 150–250 g of vegetables in each meal in total per day (Bhanti & Taneja, 2005). Currently, India is the second largest producer of vegetables, after China, and accounts for 13.4% of the world's production (Bhanti & Taneja, 2005). The use of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides was introduced in India during the mid-sixties. Now, pesticides are being used on a large scale and are a common feature of Indian agriculture (Bhanti & Taneja, 2005). Dietary ingestion is one of the pathways through which the general population is exposed to pesticides on a daily basis. Several studies indicate that certain foods contain higher levels of pesticide residues, such as fruits, juices and vegetables (Cynthia, Curi, Fenske, & Kai, 2003). The National Research Council's (NRC) report on pesticides in the diets of infants and children (NRC, 1993) concluded that dietary intake represents the primary source of pesticide exposure in children. Generally, children are exposed to more pesticides than adults because they eat more food per unit body mass than adults, and because their diets differ in nature from those of adults. Due to this exposure, pesticide-related health risks are greater in children than adults (Chensheng et al., 2006; Cynthia et al., 2003). Vegetables containing insecticide residue concentrations above the prescribed maximum residue level [MRL] may pose a health hazard to the consumer (Dogherni, Gad-Alla, Elsyes, Almaz, & Salama, 1996; Elliion, Sauve, & Selwyn, 2000; Mukherjee & Gopal, 1996). The incurable consequences to children's health from exposure to pesticides are a subject of great uncertainty and increased public health concern (Carrie et al., 1997). Several epidemiological studies show the association between child- hood leukemia and parental exposure to pesticides (Buckley et al., 1989; Leiss & Savitz, 1995; Loewengart et al., 1987; Shu et al., 1988). Ad- ditionally, a previous study indicated that children's diets may contain pesticide levels above the acute population-adjusted reference dose (Fenske, Kaadan, Lu, Fisker-Andersen, & Curi, 2002). Chronic exposure to organophosphate pesticides (OP) causes many neurological diseases (Denise, Dana, & Pauline, 2003). In view of this, the National Children's Study (NCS) working group has identified non-persistent pesticides, including synthetic pyrethroid and OP, as a chemical class to study for potential adverse, neuro-developmental outcomes (National Children's Study, 2001). Pesticide exposure has also been associated with elevated risk of cancer and reproductive dysfunction in agricultural workers (Horrigan, Lawrence, & Walker, 2002; Raschke & Burger, 1997). Food Research International 45 (2012) 161–169 ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: + 91 40 27197405; fax: + 91 40 27019074. E-mail address: sukeshnr_sinha@yahoo.com (S.N. Sinha). 0963-9969/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2011.09.028 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Food Research International journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/foodres