Pesticides in vegetable production in Bangladesh: A systemic review of contamination levels and associated health risks in the last decade

Popy Khatun; Arup Islam; Sabbya Sachi; Md Zahorul Islam; Purba Islam

doi:10.1016/j.toxrep.2023.09.003

Pesticides in vegetable production in Bangladesh: A systemic review of contamination levels and associated health risks in the last decade

Toxicol Rep. 2023 Sep 9:11:199-211. doi: 10.1016/j.toxrep.2023.09.003. eCollection 2023 Dec.

Authors

Popy Khatun¹, Arup Islam², Sabbya Sachi¹, Md Zahorul Islam¹, Purba Islam¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Bangladesh.
² Department of Microbiology, Mymensingh Medical College, Bangladesh.

Abstract

This paper reviewed the published data on the levels of different pesticide residues in vegetables (tomato, eggplant, beans, gourds, cauliflower, cabbage, cucumber, potato, carrot, onion, red chilli, red amaranth, lady's finger, spinach, coriander, and lettuce) from Bangladesh in the last decade. Vegetable production in Bangladesh has increased tremendously (37.63%) compared to the last decades, along with its pesticide use. The most observed pesticide groups used in vegetable production were organophosphorus, pyrethroids, carbamate, organochlorine, nereistoxin analogue group, and neonicotinoids. More specifically, chlorpyrifos, dimethoate, diazinon, and malathion were the most used pesticides. More than 29% of the vegetable samples (1577) were contaminated with pesticide residue; among the contaminated samples (458), most cases (73%) exceeded the maximum residue limits (MRLs). The pesticide-contaminated vegetables were cucumber (51%), tomato (41%), cauliflower (31%), miscellaneous vegetables (36%), eggplant (29%), beans (23%), cabbage (18%), and gourds (16%). Among the pesticide-contaminated samples, vegetables with above MRL were gourds (100%), beans (92), tomato (78%), eggplant (73%), miscellaneous vegetables (69%), cucumber (62%), cabbage (50%), cauliflower (50%) (p < 0.05). It was also observed that a single vegetable was often contaminated with multiple pesticides, and farmers did not follow a proper withdrawal period while using pesticides. Hazard quotation (HQ>1) was observed in adolescents and adults in tomato, eggplant, beans, cauliflower, cabbage, cucumber, lady's finger, lettuce, and coriander. There was no health risk observed (HQ<1) in gourds, potato, carrot, onion, red chilli, red amaranth, spinach, and okra. The highest acute and chronic HQ (aHQ, cHQ) was observed for cypermethrin (bean) in adolescents (aHQ=255, cHQ= 510) and adults (aHQ=131, cHQ=263). It was also observed that these pesticides harmed air, soil, water, and non-target organisms. Nevertheless, the review will help the government develop policies that reduce pesticide use and raise people's awareness of its harmful effects.

Keywords: Contamination; Health Risks; Maximum Residue Limits; Pesticides; Vegetables.

Publication types

Review