Determination and Safety Assessment of Residual Spirotetramat and Its Metabolites in Amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor) and Soil by Liquid Chromatography Triple-Quadrupole Tandem Mass Spectrometry

J AOAC Int. 2018 May 1;101(3):848-857. doi: 10.5740/jaoacint.17-0216. Epub 2017 Oct 5.

Abstract

With the purpose of guaranteeing the safe use of spirotetramat and preventing its potential health threats to consumers, a QuEChERS extraction method coupled with LC triple-quadrupole tandem MS was applied in this study to determine residual spirotetramat metabolites in different tissues of amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor) and in soil. The results indicate that the spirotetramat degraded into different types of metabolites that were located in different tissues of amaranth and in soil. B-keto, B-glu, and B-enol were the three most representative degradation products in the leaf of amaranth, and B-glu and B-enol were the two major degradation products found in the stem of amaranth; however, only B-enol was detected in the root of amaranth. B-keto and B-mono were the two products detected in the soil in which the amaranth grew. The cytotoxicity results demonstrate that spirotetramat and its metabolite B-enol inhibited cellular growth, and the toxicity of spirotetramat and its metabolite B-enol exceeded than that of the metabolites B-keto, B-mono, and B-glu. This investigation is of great significance to the safe use of spirotetramat in agriculture.

MeSH terms

  • Amaranthus / chemistry
  • Amaranthus / metabolism
  • Animals
  • Aza Compounds / analysis*
  • Aza Compounds / isolation & purification
  • Aza Compounds / metabolism
  • Aza Compounds / toxicity
  • Cell Line
  • Cell Proliferation / drug effects
  • Chromatography, Liquid / methods*
  • Insecticides / analysis*
  • Insecticides / isolation & purification
  • Insecticides / metabolism
  • Insecticides / toxicity
  • Limit of Detection
  • Plant Leaves / chemistry
  • Plant Leaves / metabolism
  • Plant Roots / chemistry
  • Plant Roots / metabolism
  • Plant Stems / chemistry
  • Plant Stems / metabolism
  • Soil / chemistry
  • Spiro Compounds / analysis*
  • Spiro Compounds / isolation & purification
  • Spiro Compounds / metabolism
  • Spiro Compounds / toxicity
  • Spodoptera / drug effects
  • Tandem Mass Spectrometry / methods*

Substances

  • Aza Compounds
  • Insecticides
  • Soil
  • Spiro Compounds
  • spirotetramat