Determining of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in domestic vegetables and fruits

The following concentrations of some PAHs were investigated; [benzo(a) anthracene, chrysene, benzo(b) fluoranthene, benzo(k) fluoranthene, benzo(a) pyrene, dibenzo(a,h) anthracene, benzo(g,h,i) perylene, indeno (1,2,3-c,d) pyrene] in vegetables(n=160) and fruits(n=50). The food samples were purchased at the local markets in Seoul, Chuncheon, Daejeon, Kwangju and Pusan. The samples were radish, onion, bean sprouts, welsh onion, chinese cabbage, spinach, young pumpkin, garlic, cucumber, carrot, lettuce, sesame leaf, tangerine, persimmon, apple, pear and banana. The methodology involved ultrasonic extraction with dichloromethane, clean-up on Sep-Pak florisil cartridges and determination by HPLC/FLD (High Performance Liquid Chromatography/Fluorescence Detector). Overall method recoveries for 8 PAHs spiked into these products ranged from 95 to 102%. The mean level of the following PAHs were determined; benzo(a) anthracene, chrysene, benzo(b) fluoranthene, benzo(k) fluoranthene, benzo(a) pyrene, dibenzo(a,h) anthracene, benzo(g,h,i) perylene and indeno(1,2,3-c,d) pyrene in vegetables and fruits was N.D., 0.014 ng/g, 0.031 ng/g, 0.016 ng/g, 0.019 ng/g, 0.091 ng/g, 0.016 ng/g and N.D., respectively.