Abstract:
Dithiocarbamates constitute an important class
of broad-spectrum antifungal compounds used extensively
in agriculture, including in the cultivation of spices. Maximum residue limits for these compounds have been
enforced by several importing countries in international
food trade. Validation of analytical methods for dithiocarbamates in spices have not been reported previously. A
quick and sensitive method for estimation of total dithiocarbamates as carbon disulphide (CS2) using GC-MS in
two major spices, viz. small cardamom (Elettaria cardamomom) and black pepper (Piper nigrum) was optimized
and validated. Dithiocarbamate residues in these spice
matrices were extracted and subjected to acid hydrolysis
followed by reduction to CS2, which was then quantitatively absorbed into isooctane and analysed using GC-MS,
employing selected ion monitoring and post-run mid-column backflush technique. For fortification levels from 0.1
to 1.0 mg kg- 1
, recoveries obtained ranged from 75 to
98% in cardamom and 76–98% in black pepper, with intraday precision (RSDr) \12% and inter-day precision
(RSDR) \15% in all cases. Limit of Quantification of
0.05 mg kg- 1 was achieved in both spices. It was found
that there was negligible interference in quantitative
accuracy due to essential oils present in the two spices
studied. Matrix effect was seen to be suppressive in the two
spices studied, and sufficiently low to exclude the use of
matrix-matched calibration in routine quantitative analysis.
The optimized analytical method was found to be suitable for evaluation of compliance of real samples against
the Codex maximum residue limits for cardamom and
black pepper. Safety evaluation for human consumption,
based on the incidence of Dithiocarbamate residues, was
performed in real samples of cardamom and black pepper.
This method offers the possibility of extending applicability to other spices also.
