Author(s)

Thais Lopes Lima¹, Maria Aparecida Nicoletti^2*, Camila Munhoz³, Gabriel Ramos De Abreu⁴, Julia Zaccarelli Magalhães⁴, Esther Lopes Ricci Ricci³, Paula A. Faria Waziry⁵, Júlia Nathalia Alves da Costa¹, Ana Carolina Nascimento Antônio¹, André Rinaldi Fukushima^4,6

¹Universidade São Judas Tadeu-R. Taquari, São Paulo/SP, Brazil.
²Departamento de Farmácia. Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas. Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo/SP, Brazil.
³Instituto de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, Rua da Consolação, São Paulo/SP, Brazil.
⁴Departamento de Patologia, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo/SP, Brazil.
⁵New Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States of America Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Miami, Florida, USA.
⁶Faculdade São Bento-Largo de São Bento, s/no-Centro, São Paulo-SP, São Paulo/SP, Brazil.

Introduction: Paraquat (1,1’-dimethyl-4,4’-bipyridine-dichloride) is a herbicide used to combat weeds and improve crop productivity. Its acute toxicity can cause fatal poisoning in humans and animals and several studies have shown a strong correlation between paraquat and Parkinson’s disease. Objective: To determine the concentration of paraquat in different types of rice in Brazil. Method: Paraquat quantification is based on a complexation reaction with sodium dithionite, which generates a blueish color compound, whose absorbance was read in a spectrophotometer at the 600 nm wavelength. Results: Five samples were found to be above the maximum allowed limit, while one sample had a concentration in the upper allowed limit. The method employed did not allow quantification of black rice. Conclusion: There is a need for identification of the type of pesticide used in each examined crop as well as their respective dates of remission in order to improve the safety of agricultural practices.

Paraquat, Herbicide, Rice

Lima, T. , Nicoletti, M. , Munhoz, C. , Abreu, G. , Magalhães, J. , Ricci, E. , Waziry, P. , Costa, J. , Antônio, A. and Fukushima, A. (2018) Determination of Paraquat in Several Commercially Available Types of Rice. Food and Nutrition Sciences, 9, 1368-1375. doi: 10.4236/fns.2018.912098.