Development of Simultaneous Analytical Method for Thiodicarb and its Metabolite Methomyl in Livestock Products

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Agricultural use and pest control purposes of pesticides may lead to livestock products contamination. Thiodicarb and its degraded product, methomyl, are carbamate insecticides that protect soya bean, maize, fruit, and vegetables and control flies in animal and poultry farms. For maximum residue limit enforcement and monitoring, the JMPR residue definition of thiodicarb in animal products is the sum of thiodicarb and methomyl, expressed as methomyl. This residue definition was set to consider the fact that thiodicarb was readily degraded to methomyl in animal commodities. And therefore the simultaneous analytical method of thiodicarb and methomyl is required for monitoring in livestock products. METHODS AND RESULTS: The study was conducted using a quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) method and HPLC-MS/MS to determine the thiodicarb and methomyl in livestock products. The limit of quantitation (LOQ) was 0.01 mg/kg for livestock products, including beef, pork, chicken, milk, and egg. The coefficient of determinations (r 2 ) for the calibration curve were > 0.99, which was acceptable values for linearity. Average recoveries at spiked levels (LOQ, 10LOQ, and 50LOQ, n=5) in triplicate ranged from 73.2% to 102.1% and relative standard deviations (RSDs) were less than 10% in all matrices. CONCLUSION: The analytical method was validated for the performance parameters (specificity, linearity, accuracy, and precision) in livestock products to be acceptable by the CODEX guidelines.