Determination of residual flubendiamide in the cabbage by QuEChERS-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Flubendiamide, which belongs to the new chemical class of phthalic acid diamides, is widely used against lepidopteron pests in a variety of vegetable and rice pests. It provides superior plant protection against a broad range of economically important lepidopterous pests, including Spodoptera exigua and Plutella xylostella. A determination method of flubendiamide in the cabbage was established in this paper. Flubendiamide in the cabbage was extracted with acetonitrile and ultrasonic extraction, and was purified by QuEChERS and analyzed by LC-MS/MS (liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry). The results indicated that the average recovery of flubendiamide in the cabbage was 81.27%-91.45%, the coefficient of variation was 1.79%-4.81%, and the lowest detection concentration was 0.3 μg/kg. The extraction of flubendiamide from the cabbage and its analysis was in accordance with the pesticide residue criterion, i.e., simple, rapid, accurate, reproducible, stable, separatory, and convenient. It identifies and quantifies trace-level flubendiamide residues in the cabbage extracts using LC-MS/MS in the ESI negative mode coupled with the QuEChERS method.