Abstract
BACKGROUND: This study was carried out to investigate residual characteristics of diethofencarb during ginseng cultivation and processing, and to establish the maximum residue limits (MRL) of ginseng and its processed products. METHODS AND RESULTS: Supervised field trials were conducted from three fields located at Seosan, Goesan and Jeongeup in Korea. Diethofencarb 25% WP was diluted by 500 times and sprayed 4 times onto the ginseng with 10 days interval. The samples were collected at 80 days after final application. The residual amounts of diethofencarb ranged from 0.074 to 0.460 mg/kg in fresh ginseng, from 0.292 to 0.720 mg/kg in dried ginseng, and from 0.208 to 0.557 mg/kg in red ginseng. These data exceeded the ginseng's MRL, 0.3 mg/kg. The processing factors of diethofencarb in processed products were found to be 2.64 and 1.99, respectively for dried and red ginseng. CONCLUSION: Given the lower residual concentration of red ginseng that goes through a more complicated process than dried ginseng, the residual concentrations of diethofencarb in processed ginseng products were found to be dependent on processing method. Therefore, it is necessary to reconsider the MRL of diethofencarb in fresh ginseng and its processed products.
