{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,28]],"date-time":"2026-09-28T03:05:30Z","timestamp":1790564730555,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,23]],"date-time":"2025-05-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1747958400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"School of Health Sciences Research, Research Institute for Health Sciences, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand","award":["015\/2566"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["015\/2566"]}]},{"name":"School of Health Sciences Research, Research Institute for Health Sciences, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand","award":["NRF 2018R1A6A1A03024862"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NRF 2018R1A6A1A03024862"]}]},{"name":"National Research Foundation of Korea","award":["015\/2566"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["015\/2566"]}]},{"name":"National Research Foundation of Korea","award":["NRF 2018R1A6A1A03024862"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NRF 2018R1A6A1A03024862"]}]},{"name":"TA\/RA Scholarship from Chiang Mai University","award":["015\/2566"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["015\/2566"]}]},{"name":"TA\/RA Scholarship from Chiang Mai University","award":["NRF 2018R1A6A1A03024862"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NRF 2018R1A6A1A03024862"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The increasing popularity of edible insects as a sustainable food source necessitates stringent safety measures to monitor pesticide contamination. This study aimed to assess and enhance a QuEChERS-based extraction method coupled with gas chromatography\u2013tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS\/MS) for the quantification of pesticide residues in edible insects (bamboo caterpillars, house crickets, silkworm pupae, giant water bugs, and grasshoppers) by combining multiple individual insect specimens into a single, homogenized sample\u2014five replicates were tested. The method was optimized by evaluating various extraction parameters and showed strong linearity for all 47 target pesticides, with correlation coefficients (R2) ranging from 0.9940 to 0.9999. The limits of detection (LODs) varied between 1 and 10 \u00b5g\/kg, while the limits of quantification (LOQs) ranged from 10 to 15 \u00b5g\/kg. Recovery studies conducted at three fortification levels (10, 100, and 500 \u00b5g\/kg) revealed recoveries ranging from 64.54% to 122.12%, that over 97.87% of the pesticides exhibited satisfactory recoveries within the range of 70\u2013120%, and relative standard deviations (RSDs) below 20%, between 1.86% and 6.02%. Matrix effects (%MEs) range from \u221233.01% to 24.04%, and to those that experienced no effect. More than 94% of the analytes showed minimal ion suppression or enhancement. These results conform to the SANTE guidelines for monitoring pesticide residues in edible insects, enhancing food safety standards and safeguarding consumer protection.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules30112293","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,23]],"date-time":"2025-05-23T09:58:09Z","timestamp":1747994289000},"page":"2293","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Optimization and Validation of a QuEChERS-Based Method Combined with Gas Chromatography\u2013Tandem Mass Spectrometry for Analyzing Pesticide Residues in Edible Insect Samples"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"30","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4045-6534","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Phannika","family":"Tongchai","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Health Sciences Research, Research Institute for Health Sciences, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand"},{"name":"Environmental, Occupational Health Sciences and NCD Center of Excellence, Research Institute for Health Sciences, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nootchakarn","family":"Sawarng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Public Health, Chiang Rai Rajabhat University, Chiang Rai 57100, Thailand"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anurak","family":"Wongta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Health Sciences Research, Research Institute for Health Sciences, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand"},{"name":"Environmental, Occupational Health Sciences and NCD Center of Excellence, Research Institute for Health Sciences, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-2554-7127","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Udomsap","family":"Jaitham","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Health Sciences Research, Research Institute for Health Sciences, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand"},{"name":"Environmental, Occupational Health Sciences and NCD Center of Excellence, Research Institute for Health Sciences, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kunrunya","family":"Sutan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Environmental, Occupational Health Sciences and NCD Center of Excellence, Research Institute for Health Sciences, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Saweang","family":"Kawichai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Environmental, Occupational Health Sciences and NCD Center of Excellence, Research Institute for Health Sciences, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8134-9279","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chuleui","family":"Jung","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Plant Medicals, Gyeongkuk National University, Andong 36729, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6009-2902","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bajaree","family":"Chuttong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Meliponini and Apini Research Laboratory, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5510-5905","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Surat","family":"Hongsibsong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Health Sciences Research, Research Institute for Health Sciences, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand"},{"name":"Environmental, Occupational Health Sciences and NCD Center of Excellence, Research Institute for Health Sciences, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"43","DOI":"10.1007\/s13593-017-0452-8","article-title":"The environmental sustainability of insects as food and feed. 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X"}],"container-title":["Molecules"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1420-3049\/30\/11\/2293\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,9]],"date-time":"2025-10-09T17:39:22Z","timestamp":1760031562000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1420-3049\/30\/11\/2293"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,23]]},"references-count":31,"journal-issue":{"issue":"11","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,6]]}},"alternative-id":["molecules30112293"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/molecules30112293","relation":{},"ISSN":["1420-3049"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1420-3049","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,23]]}}}