A review of extraction, analytical and advanced methods for determination of pesticides in environment and foodstuffs

Abstract

Pesticides are widely applied to prevent unwanted pests from attacking crops and livestock which led to their access into the environment. Overuses of pesticides in environment are presence of pesticide residues and their metabolites that are causing serious detrimental effects on human health and all other living organisms. Several severe diseases (Cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, birth defects, infertility) and more damages of human health are associated with the exposure of pesticides. The maximum residue limits for pesticides have been regulated by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and European Union to protect human health. Thus, monitoring these compounds is extremely important to ensure that only permitted levels of pesticide are consumed. To date, several techniques have been developed for pesticide detection, from conventional analytical to advanced detection techniques. The conventional analytical methods are gas chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography coupled with various detectors involved a sample preparation step prior to further analysis. Advanced detection methods refer to the sensors development such as electrochemical, optical, piezoelectric and molecular imprinted polymer. In this review, we summarized and explained the available analytical and advanced methods for determination of pesticides compound in environment and foodstuffs. Also, pesticides classification and its toxicity, and available extraction methods are briefly discussed.