Fast pesticide multiresidue analysis in American ginseng (Panax quinquefolium L.) by gas chromatography with electron capture detection

A fast pesticide multiresidue analysis method using gas chromatography coupled with electron capture detector was investigated for the simultaneous determination of 15 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in American ginseng ( Panax quinquefolium L.). Samples were extracted with acetic acid–water–acetonitrile (1:5:94, v/v) and cleaned up by the Quick Easy Cheap Effective Rugged and Safe multiresidue method (QuEChERS). The linearity for 15 OCPs, in the working standard solutions of seven concentration levels between 1 and 100 ng/ml, varied from 0.9990 to 0.9999. Recoveries at concentrations between 0.1 and 2 μg/g ranged from 81.4 to 95.2%, with precision, which was expressed as relative standard deviation (RSD), at values lower than 8.0%. The proposed method was applied to the determination of pesticide levels from 60 samples, taken from six different areas. Among a total of 60 samples, 15.0% (9 samples) contained at least one of the 15 pesticides. The 15 OCPs were benzene hexachloride (BHC, including α-BHC, β-BHC, γ-BHC, δ-BHC), hexachlorobenzene, heptachlor, heptachlor epoxide, aldrin, p,p′ -DDE, p,p′ -DDD, o,p′ -DDT, p,p′ -DDT, mirex, endrin and dieldrin. This study indicates that the proposed method is useful for analyzing OCPs in American ginseng.