Rotenone residues on olives and in olive oil.
The disappearance of rotenone on olives under field conditions was studied. The field data showed that rotenone residues on olives decreased with a half-life (t(1/2)) of 4.0 days. After pre-harvest time (10 days) the residues were higher than the maximum residue level fixed in Italy (0.04 mg/kg). Experiments with model systems showed that the mechanism of disappearance of rotenone is not related to evaporation, thermodegradation, or co-distillation, but only to photodegradation. When the olives were processed for oil, the residues in the oil were higher than the residues on the olives by a factor of 2.4-4.8.
Cabras
Paolo
P
Dipartimento di Tossicologia, Università di Cagliari, via Ospedale 72, 09124 Cagliari, Italy. pcabras@unica.it
Caboni
Pierluigi
P
Cabras
Marco
M
Angioni
Alberto
A
Russo
Mariateresa
M
D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D007306:Insecticides / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D007558:Italy; D007700:Kinetics; D000069463:Olive Oil; D010573:Pesticide Residues / Q000032:analysis*; D010777:Photochemistry; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000737:chemistry*; D012402:Rotenone / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D014197:Trees / Q000737:chemistry*
D007306:Insecticides; D000069463:Olive Oil; D010573:Pesticide Residues; D010938:Plant Oils; D012402:Rotenone