Quantification of Ochratoxin A in 90 spice and herb samples using the ELISA method.

This study addressed the challenge of accurately detecting mycotoxins in herbs and spices, which have gained popularity as alternative medicines but pose health risks due to potential contamination. We used a competitive direct ELISA kit (Art No. 8610), Veratox for Ochratoxin, to quantify Ochratoxin A in the herb and spice samples. The samples were first prepared using solid-liquid extraction with 70% methanol. The resulting filtrate was then subjected to ELISA analysis. The results of the analysis were then further analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA). In this study, PCA was used to classify the concentration levels of Ochratoxin A based on various factors, such as the packaging type, country of origin, shelf life, and sample weight. The limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) values indicate the lowest amount of Ochratoxin A that can be detected and quantified, respectively, with high accuracy and precision. The range of the LOD and LOQ values (0.43-0.58 µg/kg and 1.45-1.95 µg/kg, respectively) suggests that the method used was capable of detecting and quantifying Ochratoxin A in the herb and spice samples at different concentrations with a high degree of accuracy and precision. These results suggest that while most of the samples (73.33%) were below the maximum residue limit (MRL) for Ochratoxin A, a significant number of samples (26.67%) had concentrations of Ochratoxin A that were higher than the MRL. This highlights the importance of monitoring Ochratoxin A in herb and spice samples and ensuring the products are safe for consumption.

Recent Modifications and Validation of QuEChERS-dSPE Coupled to LC-MS and GC-MS Instruments for Determination of Pesticide/Agrochemical Residues in Fruits and Vegetables: Review.

Fruits and vegetables constitute a major type of food consumed daily apart from whole grains. Unfortunately, the residual deposits of pesticides in these products are becoming a major health concern for human consumption. Consequently, the outcome of the long-term accumulation of pesticide residues has posed many health issues to both humans and animals in the environment. However, the residues have previously been determined using conventionally known techniques, which include liquid-liquid extraction, solid-phase extraction (SPE) and the recently used liquid-phase microextraction techniques. Despite the positive technological effects of these methods, their limitations include; time-consuming, operational difficulty, use of toxic organic solvents, low selective property and expensive extraction setups, with shorter lifespan of instrumental performances. Thus, the potential and maximum use of these methods for pesticides residue determination has resulted in the urgent need for better techniques that will overcome the highlighted drawbacks. Alternatively, attention has been drawn recently towards the use of quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe technique (QuEChERS) coupled with dispersive solid-phase extraction (dSPE) to overcome the setback challenges experienced by the previous technologies. Conclusively, the reviewed QuEChERS-dSPE techniques and the recent cleanup modifications justifiably prove to be reliable for routine determination and monitoring the concentration levels of pesticide residues using advanced instruments such as high-performance liquid chromatography, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Applications of Experimental Design to the Optimization of Microextraction Sample Preparation Parameters for the Analysis of Pesticide Residues in Fruits and Vegetables.

Sample preparation has been identified as the most important step in analytical chemistry and has been tagged as the bottleneck of analytical methodology. The current trend is aimed at developing cost-effective, miniaturized, simplified, and environmentally friendly sample preparation techniques. The fundamentals and applications of multivariate statistical techniques for the optimization of microextraction sample preparation and chromatographic analysis of pesticide residues are described in this review. The use of Placket-Burman, Doehlert matrix, and Box-Behnken designs are discussed. As observed in this review, a number of analytical chemists have combined chemometrics and microextraction techniques, which has helped to streamline sample preparation and improve sample throughput.

Chemometric approach to the optimization of HS-SPME/GC-MS for the determination of multiclass pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables.

An HS-SPME method was developed using multivariate experimental designs, which was conducted in two stages. The significance of each factor was estimated using the Plackett-Burman (P-B) design, for the identification of significant factors, followed by the optimization of the significant factors using central composite design (CCD). The multivariate experiment involved the use of Minitab® statistical software for the generation of a 2(7-4) P-B design and CCD matrices. The method performance evaluated with internal standard calibration method produced good analytical figures of merit with linearity ranging from 1 to 500 µg/kg with correlation coefficient greater than 0.99, LOD and LOQ were found between 0.35 and 8.33 µg/kg and 1.15 and 27.76 µg/kg respectively. The average recovery was between 73% and 118% with relative standard deviation (RSD=1.5-14%) for all the investigated pesticides. The multivariate method helps to reduce optimization time and improve analytical throughput.

Chemometric study and optimization of headspace solid-phase microextraction parameters for the determination of multiclass pesticide residues in processed cocoa from Nigeria using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.

Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) is a solventless sample preparation method that combines sample preparation, isolation, concentration, and enrichment into one step. A simple and effective method coupling headspace-SPME to GC/MS was developed for the analysis of chlorpyrifos, fenitrothion, endosulfan I, and endosulfan II pesticide residues in cocoa powder. In this study, multivariate strategy was used to determine the significance of the factors affecting the SPME of the pesticides using a Plackett-Burman design, and the significant factors were optimized using central composite design. The analytes were extracted with 100 microm polydimethylsiloxane fibers according to the factorial design matrix and desorbed into a GC/MS instrument. The developed method was applied for the analysis of a cocoa powder sample, and it exhibited good figures of merit for the analytical methodology. Using the optimized conditions, the linearity ranged from 2.5 to 500 microg/kg (R2> 0.99) using an internal standard calibration method, and the average recoveries were between 75 and 95%, with RSD values between 3.8 and 9.7%.

Multivariate study of parameters in the determination of pesticide residues in apple by headspace solid phase microextraction coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry using experimental factorial design.

Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) is a solvent-less sample preparation method which combines sample preparation, isolation, concentration and enrichment into one step. In this study, multivariate strategy was used to determine the significance of the factors affecting the solid phase microextraction of pesticide residues (fenobucarb, diazinon, chlorothalonil and chlorpyrifos) using a randomised factorial design. The interactions and effects of temperature, time and salt addition on the efficiency of the extraction of the pesticide residues were evaluated using 2(3) factorial designs. The analytes were extracted with 100 µm PDMS fibres according to the factorial design matrix and desorbed into a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry detector. The developed method was applied for the analysis of apple samples and the limits of detection were between 0.01 and 0.2 µg kg(-)(1), which were lower than the MRLs for apples. The relative standard deviations (RSD) were between 0.1% and 13.37% with average recovery of 80-105%. The linearity ranges from 0.5-50 µg kg(-)(1) with correlation coefficient greater than 0.99.

Recent developments and applications of liquid phase microextraction in fruits and vegetables analysis.

The sample preparation step has been identified as the bottleneck of analytical methodology in chemical analysis. Therefore, there is need for the development of cost-effective, easy to operate, and environmentally friendly miniaturized sample preparation technique. The microextraction techniques combine extraction, isolation, concentration, and introduction of analytes into analytical instrument, to a single and uninterrupted step, and improve sample throughput. The use of liquid-phase microextraction techniques for the analysis of pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables are discussed with the focus on the methodologies employed by different researchers and their analytical performances. Analytes are extracted using water-immiscible solvents and are desorbed into gas chromatography, liquid chromatography, or capillary electrophoresis for identification and quantitation.

Applications of solid-phase microextraction for the analysis of pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables: a review.

This paper reviews the application of various modes of solid-phase microextraction (SPME) for the analysis of pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables. SPME is a simple extraction technique that eliminates the use of solvent, and it is applied for the analysis of both volatile and nonvolatile pesticides. SPME has been successfully coupled to both GC and LC. The coupling with GC has been straightforward and requires little modification of existing equipment, but interfacing with LC has proved challenging. The external standard calibration technique is widely used for quantification, while standard addition and internal or surrogate standards are mainly used to account for matrix effects. All parameters that affect the extraction of pesticide residues from fruits and vegetables, and therefore need to be optimized, are also reviewed. Details of the characteristics of analytical procedures and new trends in fiber production using sol-gel technology and molecularly imprinted polymers are discussed.