Journal of Clinical Toxicology
Open Access
ISSN: 2161-0495
ISSN: 2161-0495
Celina Ogah
AcceptedAbstracts: J Clinic Toxicol
U se of pesticides in agriculture to protect crops against destructive pests often leads to residues of these chemicals in foods. Pesticide residues in food have been shown to pose hazards to human health. The levels of pesticide residues remaining in a food item at the point of consumption depends on the method by which the food has been processed. In Nigeria, heat (boiling) is a common method of processing beans.The aim of this study was to determine the effect of boiling on the pesticide residue content of beans samples collected from markets in Lagos, Nigeria. Samples of brown beans were boiled at 150 0 C for one hour and analyzed for residues of Organochlorine, organophosphate and carbamate pesticides. Their residue contents were then compared with residue contents of raw portions of the same samples. Analysis was done using gas chromatograph with mass spectrometric detector (GC-MS) after careful extraction and cleanup. It was found that in most of the samples (86%), pesticide residue contents were decreased by boiling.The extent of reduction was higher with organophosphates (24-100%) and carbamates (20-100%) than with organochlorines (9-32%).
Celina Ogah completed her Ph.D from the University of Lagos, Nigeria. She is in a Lecturer I in the department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Lagos and a fellow of the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists. She has published 15 papers in reputed journals.