Removal of Pesticide Residues from Fruits Using Acetic Acid: Efficacy and Biochemical Impacts

Mohamed, Mohamed R.; El-Hefny, Dalia S.; Abdelaal, Sabry A.; Kishk, Elsayed A.; Abdel-Halim, Khaled Y.; Hamed, Sobhy A.

doi:10.21608/ejchem.2025.376784.11620

	Removal of Pesticide Residues from Fruits Using Acetic Acid: Efficacy and Biochemical Impacts
Egyptian Journal of Chemistry
Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available Online from 15 July 2025
Document Type: Original Article
DOI: 10.21608/ejchem.2025.376784.11620
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Authors
Mohamed R. Mohamed¹; Dalia S. El-Hefny²; Sabry A. Abdelaal¹; Elsayed A. Kishk¹; Khaled Y. Abdel-Halim ³; Sobhy A. Hamed¹
¹Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt
²Depatment of Pesticide Residues and Environmental Pollution, Central Agricultural Pesticides Laboratory (CAPL), Agricultural Research Center (ARC), 12618-Dokki, Giza, Egypt
³Mammalian & Aquatic Toxicology Department, Central Agricultural Pesticides Laboratory (CAPL), Agricultural Research Center (ARC), 12618-Dokki, Giza, Egypt
Abstract
Micronutrients are abundant in fruits and vegetables. Nevertheless, the growing usage of pesticides has caused toxic residues to be deposited in the products. The study is the first to investigate the effectiveness of acetic acid in removing multi-residues of certain pesticides from fruits under storage conditions in Egypt. After being stored at 4 C for 1, 7, 14, and 21 d, the fruits: potatoes, cantaloupe, and oranges were exposed to acetic acid solutions (1 and 5 ppm) to eliminate any remaining indoxacarb, oxamyl, fipronil, fenvalerate, and abamectin residues. For multi-residues in orange, cantaloupe, and potatoes, the mean percentages of elimination of the treatments were 99.35±0.23, 98.8±0.84, and 99.6±0.45%, respectively. Carbohydrate, protein, and phenol concentrations as well as catalase (CAT) activity at the aforementioned time points were used to evaluate the fruit's quality. Comparing the treatments to their control, there was a significant decrease in both the total carbohydrates and total phenols. However, the protein content increased significantly, and most treatments had some CAT activity alterations. Therefore, it is possible to improve food safety and decrease or eliminate pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables independently at a minimal cost by using straight forward and legal technologies.
Keywords
Pesticides; removal; acids; fruits; vegetables; biochemistry


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