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Enantioselective degradation of the chiral alpha-cypermethrin and detection of its metabolites in five plants

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Abstract

Alpha-cypermethrin (α-cypermethrin), an important chiral pyrethroid insecticide, is frequently detected in human samples. Because of the possible human health risks caused by α-cypermethrin, we studied dynamics, residues, and metabolism of α-cypermethrin in five common vegetables (tomato, cucumber, rape, cabbage, and pepper) on enantiomeric levels after foliar spray. α-Cypermethrin was qualified by a HP-5 column and its enantiomers could be separated by gas chromatograph (GC) using a BGB-172 chiral column. The results of degradation showed that α-cypermethrin dissipated rapidly in vegetables with half-lives being only 2.85–8.88 days. Stereoselective degradation was observed on pepper and cucumber while the two metabolites (cis-DCCA and 3-PBA) of α-cypermethrin were not detected during its dissipation in all plants. This is the first evidence of enantioselective degradation of α-cypermethrin in the five common vegetables and the results should be considered in future environmental risk and food safety evaluations.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Contract Grants: 21337005).

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Author notes

  1. Guojun Yao and Jing Gao contributed equally to this paper.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Food Nutrition and Human Health, Department of Applied Chemistry, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, People’s Republic of China

    Guojun Yao, Jing Gao, Chuntao Zhang, Wenqi Jiang, Peng Wang, Xueke Liu, Donghui Liu & Zhiqiang Zhou

  2. College of Science, China Agricultural University, No.2 Yuanmingyuan West Road, Beijing, 100193, People’s Republic of China

    Zhiqiang Zhou

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  1. Guojun Yao
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  2. Jing Gao
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  3. Chuntao Zhang
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  5. Peng Wang
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  6. Xueke Liu
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  7. Donghui Liu
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Correspondence to Zhiqiang Zhou.

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Yao, G., Gao, J., Zhang, C. et al. Enantioselective degradation of the chiral alpha-cypermethrin and detection of its metabolites in five plants. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26, 1558–1564 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-3594-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-3594-6

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