Volume 4, Issue 8, August – 2019 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology ISSN No:-2456-2165 IJISRT19AUG659 www.ijisrt.com 212 Determination of Major Organophosphorus Pesticide Residues in Eggplant using QuEChERS Extraction and Gas Chromatography Md. Safiqul Islam 1 , Mohammad Dalower Hossain Prodhan 2 , Md. Khabir Uddin 3 1 Department of Secondary and Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Bangladesh, Dhaka. 2 Pesticide Analytical Laboratory, Pesticide Research and Environmental Toxicology Section, Entomology Division, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, Gazipur, Bangladesh. 3 Department of Environmental Sciences, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Abstract:- Nowadays, a great concern about pesticide residues and their harmful impact on human health and environment is growing rapidly. Highly toxic chemical pesticides are responsible for direct and significant harm to all living beings and ecosystem. This investigation was undertaken to scrutinize the entity of seven Organophosphorus pesticide residues like acephate, dimethoate, fenitrothion, chlorpyrifos, quinalphos, diazinon and malathion in eggplant. Seventy eight eggplant samples were collected from retail markets located at the surrounding area of Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh namely Genda bazaar, Savar bazaar, Nayarhat bazaar, Islampur bazaar, Pallibiddut bazar, Baipayl bazaar and Sreepur bazaar. The samples were extracted by modified quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe (QuEChERS) method and analyzed by Gas Chromatography coupled with Flame Thermionic Detector (GC-FTD). Among the seventy eight analyzed samples, nine (11.5%) were contaminated by pesticide residues. Two of them were exceeded the EU-MRL (EC, 2015). Another sixty nine samples (88.5%) were free from the contamination of the sought pesticides. The findings from this current study showed the subsistence of pesticide residues in daily consumed vegetables of Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh that pointed to the imminent health hazards. Therefore, public awareness about the pesticides and other related matter should be increased for practicing a pesticide free agriculture as well as gain contaminate free environment. Keywords:- Eggplant, Pesticide Residue, QuEChERS Extraction, GC-FTD. I. INTRODUCTION Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.), a member of nightshade solanacea family, is a popular non-tuberous vegetable crop that is grown well in the subtropics and tropics. Eggplant is also termed as brinjal in Indian subcontinent and aubergine in Europe. It is an inexpensive, important, and popular vegetable in Bangladesh. Its production is nearly 50,000 hectares, the third most important vegetable in terms of production across the country [1]. A part of small resource-poor Bangladeshi farmers earn cash income from the production of eggplant. The eggplant yield is about 475 tons in 2015-2016 and about 150,000 farmers are engaged in its production in Bangladesh [2]. Globally, it is an important cash crop vegetable among poor farmers and little income consumers. The highest producer of eggplant is China (29.5 million tons) and the second highest is India (13.5 million tons) [3]. Nutritionally, it has substantial amounts of some vitamins and minerals. Eggplant is the greatest source of phenolic acids, carotenoids, glycoalkalloids with the properties of anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, cardioprotective, anti- obesity and anti-diabetic [4]. Two main steroidal glycoalkalloids (α-solamargine and α-solasonine) found in eggplant have an anti parasitic effect and these are used for the treatment of different types of cancers, like gastric cancer [5], leukemia [6], liver and lung cancer [7] and basal cell carcinoma [8]. It has also shown favorable effects on age-related muscular degradation [9], reducing cardiovascular disease [10] and protecting against sunburn- related disorders [11]. Bangladesh produces a little of the total world’s eggplant production because of the manifestation of insect pests and diseases. For the cultivation of crops in Bangladesh, the farmers are using different type of pesticides like organocarbamate, organophosphate and synthetic pyrethroid pesticides in their crop fields [12]. They use chemical pesticides in their vegetable crops inappropriately in daily or each alternate day to protect their crops from pest infestation [13]. The cultivators of the country totally depend on chemical pesticides for crop protection because of scarcity of competent alternatives to pesticides and illiteracy about safe pest management. From some studies, it was observed that incompetent labeling and deficient knowledge of farmers, chemical pesticides are extensively misused in Bangladesh [14]. Excessive and haphazard use of chemical pesticides in the crop field, enhance the cost of production and increase some environmental and social issue. This also causes the destruction of biological ecosystem and development of resistance in insect pest, pathogens and weeds. Pesticide use, in both the United States and worldwide, has increased dramatically over the past 30 years and farmers today have access to a diverse chemical arsenal to protect their crops. As a result, food productivity is higher now than at any other time in human history. In