Improved Detection of Pesticide Residues in Botanicals by LCMS

Pesticides and other chemicals are used in the production of many agricultural products, including botanicals for use as dietary supplements. Supplements are widely used but their raw materials, often sourced from remote locations, are subjected to fewer regulatory controls than staple foods. To ensure quality the US FDA requires identity and quality testing, but most botanicals do not have specific regulations. To analyze complex botanicals for residual chemicals such as pesticides, LC-MS-MS is needed for high sensitivity, high confidence results. We developed an LCMS method with improved detection sensitivity for chemical residues in botanicals.