Phytotoxic effects and persistence of malathion on fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum), and assessment of health risks

Pesticides have widespread use and their toxic residues have been reported in vegetables, thereby residual analysis of pesticides in agricultural produce has become increasingly essential. In this study, effect of malathion application at different doses (0.005–0.1%) was assessed on germination, seedling growth, and photosynthetic pigments in fenugreek. Result outcomes revealed that higher malathion concentrations triggered antagonistic effects on fenugreek growth parameters and photosynthetic pigments. The persistence pattern of malathion in fenugreek herb after application at different doses (0.03%, 0.05%, 0.1%) was also determined by UHPLC. Results corroborated that the initial deposit of malathion in fenugreek was 16.28, 21.131, and 31.45 μg/g at 0.03%, 0.05%, 0.1% application doses, respectively. Consumable safety time was observed to be 3, 3, and 5 days after application, which was sufficient to reduce malathion residues to below MRL. Health risk assessment presented that % contribution to ADI of malathion through dietary consumption of fenugreek ranged from 29.7 to 133% in children and 12.6 to 74.2% in adults. Despite the fact that HRI values were < 1, children were determined to be at greater risk due to the concentration of malathion detected in samples. Therefore, current finding highlights the importance of vigilant pesticide monitoring and health risk assessment.