Metabolic and Dynamic Profiling for Risk Assessment of Fluopyram, a Typical Phenylamide Fungicide Widely Applied in Vegetable Ecosystem

Fluopyram, a typical phenylamide fungicide, was widely applied to protect fruit vegetables from fungal pathogens-responsible yield loss. Highly linked to the ecological and dietary risks, its residual and metabolic profiles in the fruit vegetable ecosystem still remained obscure. Here, an approach using modified QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe) extraction combined with GC-MS/MS analysis was developed to investigate fluopyram fate in the typical fruit vegetables including tomato, cucumber, pepper under the greenhouse environment. Fluopyram dissipated in accordance with the first-order rate dynamics equation with the maximum half-life of 5.7 d. Cleveage of fluopyram into 2-trifluoromethyl benzamide and subsequent formation of 3-chloro-5-(trifluoromethyl) pyridine-2-acetic acid and 3-chloro-5-(trifluoromethyl) picolinic acid was elucidated to be its ubiquitous metabolic pathway. Moreover, the incurrence of fluopyram at the pre-harvest interval (PHI) of 7–21 d was between 0.0108 and 0.1603 mg/kg, and the Hazard Quotients (HQs) were calculated to be less than 1, indicating temporary safety on consumption of the fruit vegetables incurred with fluopyram, irrespective of the uncertain toxicity of the metabolites. Taken together, our findings reveal the residual essential of fluopyram in the typical agricultural ecosystem, and would advance the further insight into ecological risk posed by this fungicide associated with its metabolites.