Determination of flubendiamide residues and its safety evaluation for usage in cardamom by liquid chromatography

Abstract

Cardamom is a major export oriented commodity in the world and it is susceptible to infestation by various pests which cause considerable economic loss. It is necessary to adopt new chemical insecticides with novel modes of action which control pest infestations. Flubendiamide fits into integrated pest management programmes in a variety of crops and is widely used in crops like tomato, cabbage and brinjal for controlling Lepidoptera pests and it is effective when used for cardamom. The major concern is ensuring residue free pods and safe harvest of cardamom for human consumption to prevent any health hazard. The present study investigates the behaviour of flubendiamide in cardamom in the humid subtropical conditions of India. A rapid, simple and selective method has been developed to determine residues of flubendiamide and desiodo flubendiamide in green cardamom, cured cardamom capsule, cured cardamom black seed and soil. The flubendiamide residues were extracted using the QuEChERS principle with acetonitrile and then cleaned up by dispersive solid phase extraction with primary secondary amine sorbent to remove co-extractives, prior to high performance liquid chromatograph-diode array detector analysis. The average recoveries of flubendiamide and desiodo flubendiamide from all matrices were more than 83% and the limit of quantification was 0.05 µg/g. The results of flubendiamide dissipation pattern followed first order kinetics with a half-life of 2.95 to 3.27 days in green cardamom pods. The present study suggests that residues of flubendiamide when applied at the recommended dose does not pose any health risk to consumers if a withdrawal period of 20 days is allowed.