Ozone treatment pak choi for the removal of malathion and carbosulfan pesticide residues

Since the beginning of the widespread use of pesticides, their removal from food has become a serious concern. In this study, the removal of residual pesticides (malathion and carbosulfan) from pak choi via treatment with ozonated water was investigated. Under the optimal treatment conditions, i.e., 2.0 mg/L ozonated water and a treatment duration of 15 min, malathion and carbosulfan were degraded by 53.0 and 33.0%, respectively, without any significant changes in color. Even though there was a slight decrease in vitamin C content (similar to 7.9 mg/100 g) following the treatments, a significant decrease in the microbial colonies on the vegetables was observed. Additionally, the pesticide degradation mechanism showed good fitting with a first + first-order kinetic model (R-2 > 0.9), and the slope (k) indicated that ozone had a more prominent degradation effect on malathion than on carbosulfan. Therefore, this study provides a theoretical basis for controlling agricultural pesticide residues in household applications.

Automated summary

This study investigated the removal of residual pesticides from pak choi using ozonated water, finding high degradation rates of pesticides and a significant reduction in microbial colonies with slight decrease in vitamin C content. The pesticide degradation mechanism followed a first + first-order kinetic model, showing ozone had a more prominent effect on malathion degradation, providing a theoretical basis for controlling agricultural pesticide residues in household applications.