Direct determination of glyphosate and aminomethyl phosphonic acid in honeybees

Abstract

A straightforward LC-ESI-MS/MS method was developed and validated for the detection and quantitation of the herbicide glyphosate (GLY) and its metabolite aminomethyl phosphonic acid (AMPA) in honeybees. The method was validated, fulfilling the SANTE 11945/2015 guideline criteria, demonstrating acceptable mean recoveries at LOQ and 10×LOQ varying from 75-87% for both compounds. LOQ was determined at 0.2 and 0.5 μg/g bee body weight (bw) for GLY and AMPA respectively. Analysis of 14 honeybee samples displayed only one positive sample, containing GLY marginally above LOQ and traces of AMPA.