Multiple residue extraction for organochlorine pesticides in medicinal plants.

A rapid, multiresidue, multimatrix analytical method for the determination of aldrin, endrin, dieldrin and hexachlorocyclohexane isomers (alpha-, beta-, gamma- and delta-HCH) residues in medicinal plants has been developed. Samples were extracted by matrix solid-phase dispersion (MSPD) followed by gas chromatographic-electron-capture detection (GC-(63)Ni-ECD). The validation of the proposed approach was carried out by comparison with the European Pharmacopoeia reference extraction method obtaining similar or even better efficiencies by the proposed approach.