Pesticide residue monitoring and risk assessment in the herbal fruits Schisandra chinensis, Lycium chinense, and Cornus officinalis in Korea

Schisandra chinensis, Lycium chinense, and Cornus officinalis are cultivated in South Korea, China and Japan. Because of their beneficial biological effectiveness, the consumption of these herbs is increasing. The objective of this study was to analyze the pesticide residue levels on these herbal fruits produced in Korea. A short- and long-term risk assessment of the pesticides in herbal fruits was conducted. Pesticides were detected in most samples, and all samples with multiple residues were also noted. The average numbers of pesticides detected in the S. chinensis, L. chinense, and C. officinalis samples were 1.84, 10.28, and 5.87, respectively. The short-term and highest long-term risks, and the cumulative risk (cHI) were 0.633%, 1.14%, and 7.56% (S. chinensis), 1.0 × 10−1%, 1.1 × 10−5%, and 4.0 × 10−5% (L. chinense), and 2.2 × 10−5%, 1.6 × 10−5%, and 8.9 × 10−5% (C. officinalis). No significant health risk for consumers via herbal fruit consumption was detected.