Determination of 11 carbamate pesticide residues in Glycyrrhizae radix et rhizoma and its extracts using ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry with gel permeation chromatographic clean-up

An ultra performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometric method (UPLC-ESI MS/MS) has been developed for the determination of 11 carbamate pesticide residues in Glycyrrhizae radix et rhizoma and its extracts. After extracted by acetonitrile and cleaned up by gel permeation chromatography (GPC), the samples were determined by UPLC-ESI MS/MS. Glycyrrhizae radix et rhizoma and its extracts were analyzed as model examples. When the spiked levels were 0.02, 0.04, and 0.1 mg/kg in the samples, the average recoveries of 11 carbamate pesticides from Glycyrrhizae radix et rhizoma were obtained from 72.2% to 94.0%, the relative standard deviations (RSDs) ranged from 0.7% to 7.8%. The average recoveries of 11 carbamate pesticides in Glycyrrhizae radix et rhizoma extract ranged from 73.8% to 94.7% and the RSDs ranged from 1.5% to 12.7%. The sensitivity, accuracy, and precision of this method can meet the requirements of the pesticide residue analysis, and the method can be applied to determine carbamate pesticide residues in Glycyrrhizae radix et rhizoma, Astragali radix and their extracts.