Development and validation of a HPTLC method for simultaneous analysis of temephos and fenitrothion in Green tea

A high-performance thin-layer chromatographic (HPTLC) method for simultaneous analysis of temephos and fenitrothion in green tea has been established and validated. The sample was extracted with ethyl acetate by mechanical vibration at room temperature and the extract was cleaned by use of an SPE tandem column, before elution with dichloromethane. The extract was applied as bands to glassbacked silica gel 60F254 HPTLC plates. The plates were developed with acetone-hexane 3+7 (v/v), in an unsaturated glass twin-trough chamber. The developed HPTLC plates were evaluated densitometrically. The detection limits of temephos (RF 0.55) and fenitrothion (RF 0.69) were 20 and 10 ng, respectively. Recovery from green tea of the two pesticides at levels of 0.2 to 4 mg kg−1 was 80–107% with relative standard deviations of 4.4–20.2%. The precision and accuracy of the method were generally fit for analysis of temephos and fenitrothion residues in green tea.