Dissipation and metabolism of tebufenozide in cabbage and soil under open field conditions in South China

• Tebufenozide residues in cabbage and soil were quantitated by a simple and reliable chromatographic method.
• The dissipation dynamics of tebufenozide was determined in cabbage and soil.
• The degradation products of tebufenozide in cabbage were identified, providing a better understanding for its environmental behavior.

The novel nonsteroidal ecdysone agonist tebufenozide is capable of controlling a wide range of lepidopteran pests. However its intensive use in vegetables has raised concerns towards the safety of food and environment. Here, we developed an easy and reliable method to analyze tebufenozide in cabbage and soil by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The average recoveries of tebufenozide ranged from 72.01% to 101.10% with the relative standard deviations (RSD)<6%, and the LOD and LOQ were 0.02 µg g−1 and 0.05 µg g−1, respectively. According to the dissipation study, the half-lives of tebufenozide were 2.96 and 4.08 d in cabbage and 4.95–7.70 d in soil, respectively. The final residues were determined below the maximum residue limit (MRL) (0.5 mg kg−1) after a pre-harvest interval (PHI) of 7 d. Moreover, its major metabolites were identified by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) on LTQ-Orbitrap XL, which leading to the first report of the degradation pathway of tebufenozide in cabbage. The present study is expected to provide basic data for the use guidance and safety evaluation of tebufenozide in agricultural crops and environment.