Translocation of pesticide residues in cabbage

Abstract

The occurrence of pesticide residues in food matrices has become a necessity due to the toxicity and permanence of these xenobiotics. Translocation of pesticides in local and imported cabbage samples was investigated using Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrophotometer (GC/MS) procedures. Cabbage samples were fractionated with respect to distance from the skin to the core and prepared for analysis. Results showed that organochlorine, organophosphate and synthetic pyrethroid residues were translocated in cabbage samples analysed. With respect to cabbage fractions, the outer pulp retained more of the residues than the pulp and the central core. On chemicals species, organochlorines were retained more in the outer pulp than the other fractions of the vegetables. Synthetic pyrethoid residues were restricted to the outer and inner pulp samples. All the chemical species identified were tanslocatable across the fractional parts of the vegetable with the exception of synthetic pyrethroid residues. There were significant differences in translocation and residue accumulation of pesticide among the fractional parts of the vegetable.