Evaluation of residues of pesticides on humans from medium plant of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Introduction: Pesticide use in Brazil is widespread. General population is concerned about the risks of consuming food containing pesticide residues. Objective: The greatest contribution of this work is to highlight the absence of blood residual contamination in the population of medium plant of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, by the pesticides: atrazine, abamectin, chlorpyriphos and diuron. Materials and methods: Pesticide residues were extracted using QuEChERS approach and were quantified by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Results: Most volunteers (92.75%) present normal levels of plasma cholinesterase and all volunteers do not present residues of any pesticide tested. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that even though the use of pesticides is widespread in our region, the population did not present blood residues or enzymatic changes suggestive of acute intoxication..