Simultaneous determination of pesticide residues in pomegranate whole fruit and arils using LC-MS/MS

An analytical method in pomegranate whole fruits and arils was developed in LC-MS/MS and validated as per SANTE/12682/2019. Samples were extracted following acetonitrile-based modified QuEChERS protocol. The method was linear and the coefficient of determination ranged between 0.998 and 0.999. Through this method, all the pesticides were detected and quantified at 10 mu g kg (-1). The accuracy test at 10, 50, and 100 mu g kg(- 1) spiking level recorded recovery between 70 and 120% and RSD less than 15% in both matrices. No significant matrix effect was observed for most pesticides. Intra (RSDr) and inter-day (RSDwr) precision estimated at 50 mu g kg(- 1) found acceptable RSD in both matrices. Measurement uncertainty at 50 mu g kg(- 1) was in the range of 4.02 to 16.12 mu g kg (-1). Quantifying pesticides in pomegranate whole fruits, peel, and arils using the proposed method is highly suitable and reproducible for 74 pesticides in a short run time of 25.00 min.

Automated summary

An LC-MS/MS method was developed and validated for analyzing pesticides in pomegranate whole fruits and arils. The method demonstrated high accuracy and reproducibility, and can detect and quantify a wide range of pesticides in pomegranate samples.