Dissipation, residue distribution, and risk assessment of ethiprole and its metabolites in rice under various open field conditions

Abstract BACKGROUND Ethiprole has been registered to control planthoppers in rice fields for many years in Asia. However, its dissipation and residues in rice under natural field conditions and health hazards are largely unclear. In the present study, a modified QuEChERS (i.e. Quick Easy Cheap Effective Rugged Safe) and high‐performance liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry method was established to detect ethiprole and its metabolites, ethiprole amide and ethiprole sulfone, in brown rice, rice husks, and rice straw. The field experiments were implemented in 12 representative provinces of China under Good Agricultural Practices aiming to investigate the fate and terminal residues of ethiprole and its metabolites in rice. Finally, the dietary risk of ethiprole was evaluated. RESULTS The average recoveries of these analytes in all matrices were 86.4–99.0% with a repeatability of 0.575–9.38%. The limits of quantification for each compound were 0.01 mg kg −1 . Dissipation of ethiprole followed the single first‐order, first + first‐order, and first‐order multi‐compartment kinetic models with a half‐life of 2.68–8.99 days in rice husks. The dissipation half‐life of ethiprole combining all metabolites was 5.20–16.2 days in rice husks. The terminal residues of ethiprole and its metabolites at preharvest intervals of 21 days were < 0.011, 0.25, and 0.20 mg kg −1 in brown rice, rice husks, and rice straw, respectively. Ethiprole amide was undetectable in all matrices, and the risk quotient of ethiprole was far less than 100%. CONCLUSION Ethiprole rapidly converted to ethiprole sulfone in rice, and ethiprole and ethiprole sulfone mainly remained in rice husks and straws. The dietary risk of ethiprole was acceptable for Chinese consumers. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.