Abstract
Prochloraz is a fungicide that is widely used on vegetables to maintain freshness during storage. To ensure that prochloraz is used in a safe way that reduces the levels of residue on the product, we evaluated two treatment methods (soaking and spraying) that are commonly used for garlic sprouts. An ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for prochloraz residue on garlic sprouts. The linear range of the method was 5–500 μg/kg and the correlation coefficient was 0.9983. The average recovery range was 88–94%, and the relative standard deviation range was 2.6–9.7%. Garlic sprout samples that had been soaked in or sprayed with prochloraz were collected from cold storage facilities in Laixi and Pingdu, China. For the soaked samples, the ranges for the levels of prochloraz residue on the whole garlic sprouts and stems (edible portion) were 15.76–25.14 mg/kg and 0.58–1.62 mg/kg, respectively. For the sprayed samples, the ranges for the levels of prochloraz residue on the whole garlic sprouts and stems were 1.85–7.89 mg/kg and 0.01–1.29 mg/kg, respectively. The results of this study provide a scientific basis for rationalizing the use of prochloraz and improving the safety of edible garlic sprouts.
Highlights
Garlic sprouts are a common and popular vegetable in north China [1]
To study the scientific use of prochloraz and undertake accurate assessments of prochloraz residue on garlic sprouts, in this study, we developed an ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method for detecting prochloraz residue on garlic sprouts
The limit of detection (LOD) was calculated as three times the value of the instrument background signal generated by the blank matrix, and the LOQ was calculated as 10 times the background signal generated by the blank matrix (Table 2)
Summary
Garlic sprouts are a common and popular vegetable in north China [1]. They are rich in allicin, sugar, crude fiber, carotene, vitamin A, vitamin B2 , vitamin C, niacin, calcium, phosphorus, and other nutrients [2]. The bactericidal ability of allicin can reach one-tenth of that of penicillin [3] and garlic sprouts can help prevent influenza and wound infection, as well as be used for deworming [4]. Of the types of vegetables kept in cold storage facilities in China, garlic sprouts make up the largest proportion and are stored for longer periods than other vegetables [5]. Garlic sprouts are generally harvested in May [6], when the average temperature in Shandong Province (China) is. Public Health 2018, 15, 1552; doi:10.3390/ijerph15071552 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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