Profiling and fingerprinting strategies to assess exposure of edible plants to herbicides

Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus, was exposed under experimental conditions to herbicides: rimsulfuron (RIM), administrated as (1) pure substance, (2) in commercially available formulation (RIMEL), (3) its degradation product: 4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-amine (2ADP), (4) mesotrione (MES), (5) sulcotrione (SUL). Profiling and fingerprinting strategies, conducted by LC-MS/MS-FL, were employed to find markers of plant exposure to herbicide stress. The presence of RIM metabolite in the tissues of plant exposed to this herbicide proved that it is necessary to determine both parent compound and its by-products to obtain reliable information on plant exposure to agrochemicals. A higher content of normetanephrine (NMN) (18-175%) and lower content of tyramine (TYR) (49-75%) and epinephrine (E) (75-83%) was observed in plant tissues exposed to RIM and 2ADP in comparison to blank sample. Therefore, NMN, TRY and E may be considered as markers of plant response to RIM. Non-target analysis enables to recognize the type of herbicide used during cultivation.

Automated summary

In this study, Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus was exposed to various herbicides and LC-MS/MS-FL analysis was used to identify markers of plant response to herbicide stress, emphasizing the importance of detecting both parent compounds and by-products for reliable information. Differences in content of certain substances were observed in plant tissues exposed to herbicides, indicating their potential as markers for herbicide exposure, while non-target analysis proved useful in recognizing herbicide types used during cultivation.