Several pesticides (used in vegetable production) have recently been identified as potential Endocrine Disruptors. The current study aimed to determine the consumer exposure risk associated with eating contaminated vegetables. The European Union-citrate buffered QuEChERS extraction protocol, validated in accordance with the European Union guidelines, was used to monitor selected endocrine disrupting pesticides and their metabolites in brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) and cauliflower (Brassica oleracea) marketed in Rawalpindi/Islamabad, Pakistan. A total of 88 and 69 percent of brinjal (n= 25) and cauliflower samples (n=26) were found contaminated among which 20 and 65 percent were exceeding the European Union maximum residue limits respectively. Both vegetables contained high levels of the androgen antagonist chlorpyrifos and the thyroid hormone inhibitor lambda-cyhalothrin. The acute health risk associated with dietary exposure to chlorpyrifos in brinjal and cauliflower was 1.88 and 22, respectively. The cumulative health index in cauliflower was found to be greater than one for both males and females (cumulative health index > 1). Thus, chlorpyrifos residues in brinjal and cauliflower pose both acute and chronic human health risks, whereas lambda-cyhalothrin residues in cauliflower samples only pose such an implication.
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