Large-scale fate tendency of lufenuron during cabbage cultivation: new insights into dietary risk and models comparison

Elucidating the environmental fate and exposure risk of lufenuron is crucial to ensure food safety and protect human health. In this study, we developed a rapid and sensitive analytical method for tracing lufenuron in cabbages using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The occurrence, pharmacokinetic dissipation, and concentration variation of lufenuron were characterized by primary concentrations (0.009-0.420 mg/kg), half-lives (0.3 d-11.7 d), and final magnitude (<LOQ-0.320 mg/kg). A probabilistic model was introduced to assess dietary risks and presented a comprehensive picture of the risk at multi-probabilities. The chronic dietary risk (ADI%) of lufenuron were 1.074-5.609 % from the 50th to the 99.9th percentile. This was compared with deterministic models, which yielded ADI% values ranging from 0.177 % to 0.500 %, both of which were acceptable. The exposure risks of rural females aged 4-6 years were significantly higher than those of the other groups (P < 0.05), which should be taken seriously with the increasing requirement of lufenuron in actual agricultural production.