Health Risk Assessment of Pesticide Residues Via Dietary Intake of Market Vegetables from Nagpur District, India

Abstract

The study was carried out to assess the health risk of pesticide residues via dietary intake of vegetables collected from the agro-based market of Nagpur District, Maharashtra. The analysis was carried out as per the standard method of ICAR followed by Gas Chromatographic technique with electron capture detector (GC-ECD). It was used to identify organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) (e.g. aldrin, HCH, endosulphan, endosulphan sulfate, DDT, DDE, DDD, dicofol), in common vegetables of Nagpur district (cauliflower, brinjal, chili, carrot). Pesticide residues were compared with MRL established by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and Codex Alimentarius Commission. It was found that pesticide residues detected in all vegetable samples were within the prescribed limits, whereas the highest health indices were found for aldtin ( 1.540), endosulphan (2.190) and dicofol (3.657) in brinjal, alone. Therefore, the main health risk may be posed by these recorded compounds, while the remaining pesticide residues present no risk in the other vegetables analyzed.