Real-Time Monitoring of Translocation, Dissipation, and Cumulative Risk of Maleic Hydrazide in Potato Plants and Tubers by Ion Exclusion Chromatography.

In this paper, a high-performance ion exclusion chromatographic (ICE) method was developed and applied for monitoring maleic hydrazide (MH) translocation in complex potato plant tissue and tuber matrices. After middle leaf uptake, most MH was trapped and dissipated in the middle leaf, and the rest was transported to other parts mainly through the phloem. Soil absorption significantly reduced the uptake efficiency of the root system, in which MH was partitioned to dissipate in root protoplasts or transfer through the xylem and persisted in the plant. Tuber uptake enabled MH to remain in the flesh and maintain stable levels under storage conditions, but during germination, MH was translocated from the flesh to the growing buds, where it dissipated through the short-day photoperiodic regime. The results demonstrated successful application of the ICE method and provided necessary insights for real-time monitoring of MH translocation behavior to effectively improve potato edible safety.

Determination of maleic hydrazide residues in garlic bulbs by HPLC.

In recent years, the release of information about the preventative and curative properties of garlic on different diseases and their benefits to human health has led to an increase in the consumption of garlic. To meet the requirements of international markets and reach competitiveness and profitability, farmers seek to extend the offer period of fresh garlic by increasing post-harvest life. As a result, the use of maleic hydrazide (1,2-dihydropyridazine-3,6-dione) [MH], a plant growth regulator, has been widespread in various garlic growing regions of the world. The present work was undertaken to develop and validate a new analytical procedure based on MH extraction from garlic previously frozen by liquid nitrogen and submitted to low temperature clean-up. The applicability of the method by analysis of garlic samples from a commercial plantation was also demonstrated. The influence of certain factors on the performance of the analytical methodology were studied and optimized. The approach is an efficient extraction, clean-up and determination alternative for MH residue-quantification due to its specificity and sensitivity. The use of liquid nitrogen during the sample preparation prevents the degradation of the analyte due to oxidation reactions, a major limiting factor. Moreover, the method provides good linearity (r(2): 0.999), good intermediate precision (coefficient of variation (CV): 8.39%), and extracts were not affected by the matrix effect. Under optimized conditions, the limit of detection (LOD) (0.33 mg kg(-1)) was well below the maximum residue level (MRL) set internationally for garlic (15 mg kg(-1)), with excellent rates of recovery (over 95%), good repeatability and acceptable accuracy (CV averaged 5.74%), since garlic is a complex matrix. The analytical performance of the methodology presented was compared with other techniques already reported, with highly satisfactory results, lower LOD and higher recoveries rates. In addition, the extraction process is simple, not expensive, easily executable and requires lower volumes of organic solvent. The proposed methodology removes the need of extensive typical laboratory extraction procedures, reducing the amount of time needed for pesticide analysis and increasing sample throughput. Adopting this method gives food safety laboratories the potential to increase cost savings by a suitable technique in routine testing to determine MH residues in garlic.

The carry-through of residues of maleic hydrazide from treated potatoes, following manufacture into potato crisps and 'jacket' potato crisps.

Potatoes, which had been treated 'in the field' with a commercial formulation of maleic hydrazide, were processed into potato crisps and jacket potato crisps on a factory production line using standard manufacturing conditions. Samples were taken at strategic points throughout the process and analysed to determine the degree of carry-through of residues. Results demonstrated that ca 56% of the maleic hydrazide residue in a potato could be carried through into the potato crisps, irrespective of which type of crisp was being manufactured. Results from a similarly constructed study investigating the fate of pesticides applied post-harvest showed that carry-through was less than 10%. This difference is explained in terms of the different modes of action of the two classes of pesticides being investigated. It is known that, as maleic hydrazide is a systemic pesticide, it will be located within the flesh of the potato tuber and is therefore likely to be protected from the various stages of the crisping process. However, the post-harvest non-systemic pesticides are applied to the exterior surface of the tuber and are therefore not likely to be protected in the same way. The results also showed that, due to the concentration effect caused by the loss of moisture during crisp manufacture, the levels of maleic hydrazide residues in crisps (on a mg/kg product basis) were approximately twice those measured in the original potatoes.

Extraction of maleic hydrazide residues from potato crisps and their determination using high-performance liquid chromatography with UV and atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation mass spectrometric detection.

A method was required for the determination of maleic hydrazide residues in potato crisps. A published method for the extraction of the analyte from onions and potatoes was evaluated and found to be inappropriate due to the inability of the extracting solvent to penetrate the oily matrix. A method was developed to overcome this problem; the resulting recovery data (mean = 92.9%, R.S.D. = 8.3%, n = 16) confirmed its efficiency, and was used to analyse 48 retail potato crisp samples. To confirm possible residues identified by screening with HPLC-UV, an HPLC-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization MS method was developed. There was good agreement between the data obtained from the two detection techniques (R2 = 0.978, slope = 1.11).