ANALYTICAL METHODS FOR THE DETERMINATION OF ACEPHATE PESTICIDE RESIDUES IN SOME VEGETABLES

The research aimed to estimate the levels of pesticide residues of acephate 75% SP in some vegetable samples in Albaha local area, Saudi Arabia . Three samples of fresh vegetables were selected and analyzed namely were Coriandrum sativum (leaves), Petroselinum crispum and Eruca sativa which are considered to be the commonly used vegetables. The UV/VIS spectrophotometer was used to estimate the quantity of the pesticide in terms of a reference sample of the pesticide under study. The pesticide residues in the three vegetable samples were identified by using Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) by using two different developing systems, one is 5% acetic acid in ethyl acetoacetate and the other is formic acid: acetic acid: methanol 1: 1 : 5. The results of the study showed the presence of acephate pesticide residues in these selected vegetables with a concentration of 14.25 mg/kg in Coriandrum sativum (leaves), 8.10 mg/kg in Eruca sativa and 4.65 mg/kg in Petroselinum crispum.