Determination of pesticide residues in ginseng by dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction and ultra high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

A procedure involving acetonitrile-based extraction combined with dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) and detection by ultra high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC–MS/MS) was used for determination of 39 pesticides in ginseng. The extraction of pesticide residues in ginseng was performed with acetonitrile, applying QuEChERS methodology, and the extract was further disposed by DLLME method before analyzed by UHPLC–MS/MS. The average recoveries ranged from 70 to 120% for 82% of the analytes with RSD lower than 15%. The calibration curves obtained with blank matrices were linear with a correlation coefficient of over 0.99. The limits of detection were between 0.01 and 1.0 μg/kg. Matrix effects were studied by comparing solvent calibration curves and matrix-matched calibration curves. The results indicate the feasibility of this method for the determination of 39 pesticides in ginseng.

► A QuEChERS-DLLME-UPLC-MS/MS has been developed for rapid determination of multiclass pesticide residues in ginseng.
► The procedure to increase the sensitivity was concentration by DLLME method instead of evaporation by nitrogen.
► This method was simple, rapid and cheap.